Consumer Price Index for March 2009

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI for March 2009 rose by 2.35% year-on-year to 125.41, of which the price indices of Clothing & Footwear; and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages went up by 12.93% and 9.49% respectively. Among the subgroups of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages, notable increase was observed in the price indices of rice (+32.21%), fresh fish (+31.41%), canned meat (+27.72%), fruit (+12.57%) and vegetables (+10.95%). For the subgroups of Clothing & Footwear, price indices of women’s clothing (+14.19%) and footwear (+14.14%) registered marked increase. Meanwhile, the price indices of Miscellaneous Goods & Services and Health increased by 4.64% and 4.51% respectively, due to dearer prices of articles and products for personal care, and rising charges for hairdressing and grooming services, as well as medical consultation service. On the contrary, the price indices of Transport and Education registered year-on-year decrease of 8.88% and 7.49% respectively, on account of falling gasoline prices and airfares, as well as increase of tuition subsidies to students studying in schools not joining the free education network. The CPI-A and CPI-B for March 2009 were 127.55 and 124.84 respectively, up by 2.29% and 2.32% year-on-year. The Composite CPI for March 2009 rose by 0.43% month-to-month, with the price indices of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages; and Clothing & Footwear increasing by 1.32% and 1.19% respectively, attributable to soaring prices of vegetables and fresh fish, as well as higher prices of new arrivals of clothing. However, the price index of Housing & Fuels decreased by 0.34% due to lower rentals for housing. Moreover, the CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.52% and 0.39% respectively month-to-month. The Composite CPI for the first quarter of 2009 increased by 3.30% year-on-year to 125.61. For the 12 months ended March 2009, the average Composite CPI rose by 7.11% over the preceding period. The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 49% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP3,000 to MOP9,999. The CPI-B relates to about 31% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP10,000 to MOP19,999.