Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI (115.46) for May 2019 increased by 2.69% year-on-year, down further by 0.08 percentage points from the growth in April (+2.77%). The increment in May was attributable to dearer charges for eating out, higher rentals for dwellings, as well as rising prices of motor cars, gasoline and fruits.

Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Education and Transport grew notably by 5.90% and 4.88% respectively year-on-year, whereas the indices of Communication and Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco dropped by 0.79% and 0.21%. The CPI-A (115.50) and CPI-B (115.10) saw respective increases of 2.62% and 3.21% year-on-year.

The Composite CPI for May 2019 rose by 0.28% month-to-month. Price indices of Clothing & Footwear, Transport and Housing & Fuels increased by 1.14%, 0.74% and 0.57% respectively on account of new arrival of women’s summer clothing and footwear, higher prices of motor cars, gasoline and Liquefied Petroleum Gas, as well as rising rentals for dwellings. In spite of dearer charges for eating out and increasing prices of fresh fish and fresh pork, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages edged up by merely 0.07% due to receding prices of vegetables. On the other hand, lower charges for package tours pushed down the price index of Recreation & Culture markedly by 1.22%. The CPI-A and CPI-B grew by 0.26% and 0.41% respectively month-to-month.

For the 12 months ended May 2019, the average Composite CPI rose by 3.07% from the previous period, with notable growth in the price indices of Transport (+5.56%), Education (+5.48%) and Clothing & Footwear (+5.27%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 3.07% and 3.03% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first five months of 2019 increased by 2.83% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 2.79% and 3.15% 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.