Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI in March 2018 increased by 2.66% year-on-year to 111.67, a slowdown from the 3.12% growth in February 2018. The increment in March was attributable to dearer charges for eating out, higher rentals for dwellings, as well as increasing parking meter rates and prices of adults’ clothing.
Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Clothing & Footwear, Health and Education went up by 6.38%, 4.84% and 4.21% respectively year-on-year, while the index of Communication dropped markedly by 11.12%. The CPI-A (111.76) and CPI-B (110.97) rose by 2.65% and 2.77% respectively year-on-year.
The Composite CPI in March 2018 decreased by 0.45% month-to-month. Receding charges for package tours and airfares after the Lunar New Year, and seasonal sale of women’s winter clothing brought down the price indices of Recreation & Culture, Clothing & Footwear and Transport by 6.29%, 1.19% and 0.78% respectively. In addition, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages went down by 0.22% owing to lower prices of vegetables, fresh fish and seafood; yet, dearer charges for eating out and rising price of Thai rice curbed the decline. On the other hand, price indices of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, Health and Housing & Fuels increased by 0.68%, 0.39% and 0.29% respectively. The CPI-A and CPI-B fell by 0.46% and 0.39% respectively month-to-month.
For the 12 months ended March 2018, the average Composite CPI grew by 1.62% from the previous period, with notable increases in the price indices of Education (+5.53%) and Health (+4.76%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 1.61% and 1.67% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the first quarter of 2018 (111.67) increased by 2.51% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 2.48% and 2.75% 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.