Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI in March 2017 increased by 0.72% year-on-year to 108.78, higher than the 0.37% growth in February. The increment was attributable to dearer charges for eating out, increase in tuition fees and higher gasoline prices.
Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco and Education increased by 8.80% and 7.38% respectively year-on-year, and price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages that accounted for the largest share of household expenditure went up by 0.37%. Meanwhile, price indices of Housing & Fuels and Communication decreased by 1.74% and 1.67% respectively. The CPI-A (108.88) and CPI-B (107.98) rose by 0.67% and 1.20% respectively year-on-year.
The Composite CPI in March 2017 edged down by 0.01% month-to-month. Price index of Clothing & Footwear decreased by 1.90% owing to seasonal sales of winter clothing; meanwhile, falling prices of vegetables, fruits, fresh fish and seafood offset the increases in eating out charges and fresh pork prices, which brought down the price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by 0.10%. On the other hand, price indices of Recreation & Culture, Miscellaneous Goods & Services and Health increased by 0.77%, 0.45% and 0.37% respectively month-to-month. The CPI-A dropped by 0.02% month-to-month while the CPI-B rose by 0.13%.
For the 12 months ended March 2017, the average Composite CPI rose by 1.69% from the previous period, with marked increase in the price indices of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+14.62%), Education (+8.00%) and Transport (+6.92%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 1.58% and 2.63% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the first quarter of 2017 (108.94) increased by 0.95% year-on-year, with the price indices of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, Education and Transport rising by 7.48%, 7.37% and 6.45% respectively. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.85% and 1.78% 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.