Consumer price index (CPI) for February 2015

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for February 2015 increased by 5.30% year-on-year to 104.34, attributable to rising rentals for dwellings and dearer charges for eating out, as well as higher charges for package tours during the Lunar New Year period. In comparison with February 2014, notable increase was observed in the price index of Housing & Fuels (+10.70%), and price index of Recreation & Culture and Health increased by 9.49% and 5.64% respectively. On the contrary, price index of Transport decreased by 1.04%. The CPI-A (104.49) and CPI-B (103.12) increased by 5.60% and 4.76% respectively year-on-year. The Composite CPI for February 2015 increased by 0.90% month-to-month. Higher charges for package tours drove up the price index of Recreation & Culture by 7.15%. Meanwhile, price index of Miscellaneous Goods & Services and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 1.84% and 0.81% respectively on account of rising charges for hairdressing services and general increase in prices of fresh food and produce before the Lunar New Year, as well as dearer charges for eating out. On the other hand, seasonal sale of women’s clothing pushed down the price index of Clothing & Footwear by 1.21%. The CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.92% and 0.73% respectively month-to-month. For the 12 months ended February 2015, the average Composite CPI increased by 5.88% from the previous period. Price index of Housing & Fuels (+11.82%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+5.84%) registered remarkable increase. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 6.37% and 5.66% respectively. The average Composite CPI for the first two months of 2015 increased by 5.03% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 5.45% and 4.52% respectively. The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general households. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP10,000 to MOP29,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP30,000 to MOP54,999.