Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for March 2024 grew by 1.09% year-on-year. Among the various sections of goods and services, the price indices of Recreation & Culture (+5.27%) and Education (+5.05%) saw notable year-on-year growth, on account of rising charges for package tours, dearer hotel room rates, and higher university tuition fees. In addition, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+1.78%) increased attributable to higher charges for eating out. The price index of Housing & Fuels (+0.22%) registered a rise owing to dearer prices of liquefied petroleum gas, whereas the indices of Transport (-3.31%) and Communication (-0.23%) declined. The CPI-A and CPI-B recorded respective increases of 1.02% and 1.20% year-on-year.
In comparison with February, the Composite CPI fell by 0.29% in March. The price indices of Recreation & Culture (-3.88%), Transport (-1.72%) and Clothing & Footwear (-0.74%) recorded decreases. In contrast, the price indices of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+1.10%), Health (+0.14%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.12%) increased. The CPI-A and CPI-B dropped by 0.24% and 0.35% month-on-month respectively.
For the 12 months ended March 2024, the average Composite CPI grew by 1.03% from the previous period, and the price indices of Education (+6.99%), Recreation & Culture (+6.59%) and Clothing & Footwear (+4.67%) climbed notably. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.86% and 1.27% respectively over the previous period.
For the first quarter of 2024, the average Composite CPI went up by 1.19% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 1.07% and 1.34% respectively.
DSEC compiles three separate CPI series to reflect the impact of price changes for goods/services on households of different expenditure ranges. The CPI-A and CPI-B relate to about 50% and 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP12,000-MOP35,999 and MOP36,000-MOP62,999 respectively. The Composite CPI relates to all the above-mentioned households; Housing & Fuels, Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Transport accounted for relatively large proportions of household expenditure, with respective weights of 33.75, 27.94 and 7.84.