Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI for January 2007 went down by 0.15% over December 2006 to 110.44. The decline was mainly caused by the decreases in the price indices of Housing & fuels; Communication; Recreation & culture; and Transport. However, the impacts were largely offset by the increase in the price index of Food & non-alcoholic beverages. Compared with December 2006, the indices of Communication; Recreation & culture; Clothing & footwear; and Transport recorded notable decreases of 3.72%, 1.09%, 0.73% and 0.72% respectively, which were attributable to the waiving of mobile phone license fees for 2007, lower charges for outbound package tours after the Christmas holiday period, reduction sale of men’s and women’s clothing, as well as lower gasoline prices. In spite of higher rentals for housing, the price index of Housing & fuels went down by 0.66%, as a result of lower electricity charges due to the discount in fuel adjustment surcharge. On the other hand, the indices of Food & non-alcoholic beverages and Household goods & furnishings increased by 0.97% and 0.52% respectively, on account of higher charges for meals bought away from home, dearer prices of eggs, fish and seafood, fruit, and household textiles. As a consequence of the Chinese New Year that took place in January last year, the Composite CPI for January 2007 registered a lower year-on-year increase of 3.83%. For the 12 months ended January 2007, the average Composite CPI rose by 4.98% over the previous period. In addition, the CPI-A and CPI-B for January 2007 were 111.60 and 110.14, down by 0.14% and 0.15% respectively compared with December 2006. The Composite CPI reflects the impacts of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 49% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP 3,000 to MOP 9,999, whereas the CPI-B relates to about 31% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP 10,000 to MOP 19,999.
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