Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI in June 2017 increased by 1.06% year-on-year to 109.44, higher than the 0.95% growth in May 2017. The increment was attributable to dearer charges for outpatient services, eating out and domestic services, rising tuition fees, as well as increases in vehicle prices and parking meter rates.
Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Education and Health increased by 7.46% and 5.15% respectively year-on-year, and price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages that accounted for the largest share of household expenditure went up by 1.77%. Meanwhile, price indices of Communication and Housing & Fuels dropped by 5.82% and 0.96% respectively. The CPI-A (109.53) and CPI-B (108.70) rose by 1.05% and 1.14% respectively year-on-year.
The Composite CPI in June 2017 increased by 0.22% month-to-month. New arrival of summer clothing and women’s footwear drove up the price index of Clothing & Footwear by 1.39%. Moreover, price indices of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco and Recreation & Culture went up by 0.65% and 0.50% respectively. On the other hand, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages edged up by 0.01% as the increase in charges for eating out was partially offset by the receding prices of fruits and fresh pork. Price index of Transport grew by 0.09% on account of higher parking meter rates, yet reduced gasoline prices tapered off part of the increment. The CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.21% and 0.32% respectively month-to-month.
For the 12 months ended June 2017, the average Composite CPI went up by 1.27% from the previous period, with marked increase in the price indices of Education (+7.64%), Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+7.00%) and Transport (+5.79%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 1.18% and 2.07% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the second quarter of 2017 (109.18) increased by 0.94% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.92% and 1.07% respectively year-on-year. The average Composite CPI for the first half of 2017 climbed by 0.94% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B grew by 0.89% and 1.42% respectively.
The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general households in Macao. 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.