Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for May 2015 increased by 4.93% year-on-year to 105.39, up from the 4.51% growth in April 2015, attributable to higher rentals for dwellings and rising charges for eating out.

In comparison with May 2014, notable increase was observed in the price index of Housing & Fuels (+9.93%); Health (+6.02%); Household Goods & Furnishings (+5.43%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+5.16%) on account of rising rentals for dwellings, dearer charges for eating out and out-patient services, as well as higher wages of domestic helpers. On the contrary, price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-2.07%) showed marked decrease. The CPI-A (105.59) and CPI-B (103.74) increased by 5.42% and 3.89% respectively year-on-year.

The Composite CPI for May 2015 increased by 0.50% month-to-month. Higher prices of women’s clothing and footwear, rising wages of domestic helpers and dearer charges for out-patient services pushed up the price index of Clothing & Footwear, Household Goods & Furnishings and Health by 1.29%, 0.93% and 0.92%. Moreover, higher prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and gasoline drove up the Composite CPI by 0.13 percentage points month-to-month. On the other hand, receding prices of vegetables and seafood tapered off the increase in the price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages. The CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.51% and 0.41% respectively month-to-month.

For the 12 months ended May 2015, the average Composite CPI increased by 5.52% from the previous period. Price index of Housing & Fuels (+11.31%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+5.59%) and Health (+4.94%) showed remarkable increase. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 6.00% and 5.08% respectively.

The average Composite CPI for the first five months of 2015 increased by 4.92% year-on-year, with the price index of Housing & Fuels; Health; and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rising by 10.53%, 5.56% and 5.12% respectively. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 5.35% and 4.15% 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.