Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average Composite CPI for the whole year of 2012 was 117.04 and the inflation rate for 2012 stood at 6.11%. Rising inflation was caused by dearer prices of fresh food and produce, as well as higher charges for eating out, driving up the annual inflation rate by 2.7 percentage points. Reduced charges for communication services and subsidized electricity charges tapered off part of the increment.

In 2012, significant increase was observed in the price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+30.30%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+8.52%); Household Goods & Furnishings (+6.86%); and Housing & Fuels (+6.76%); however, price index of Communication decreased by 4.18%. In addition, the average CPI-A (116.49) and CPI-B (117.61) for 2012 increased by 6.40% and 6.31% year-on-year.

The Composite CPI (120.01) for December 2012 increased by 5.83% year-on-year. Price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+21.62%); Housing & Fuels (+8.93%); and Household Goods & Furnishings (+7.86%) registered notable increase, attributable to dearer prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and higher charges for domestic services. On the contrary, price index of Education and Communication decreased by 3.06% and 1.22% respectively. The CPI-A (119.64) and CPI-B (120.51) for December 2012 increased by 6.37% and 5.93% respectively year-on-year.

The Composite CPI increased by 0.85% month-to-month. Higher charges for package tours and new arrival of Winter clothing drove up the price index of Recreation & Culture; and Clothing & Footwear by 3.91% and 2.47%, while price index of Miscellaneous Goods & Services decreased by 0.15% on account of lower prices of gold jewellery. The CPI-A and the CPI-B increased by 0.84% and 0.80% respectively month-on-month.

The Composite CPI for the fourth quarter of 2012 rose by 5.58% year-on-year. Price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco; Household Goods & Furnishings; and Housing & Fuels posted noticeable increase, while index of Education and Communication decreased. The CPI-A and the CPI-B for the fourth quarter of 2012 increased by 6.04% and 5.72% respectively year-on-year.

The 2008/2009-based Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999.