Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI (103.03) for May 2020 increased by 1.67% year-on-year, a slowdown of 0.38 percentage points from the growth in April (+2.05%). The increment was attributable to dearer prices of fresh pork, rising charges for eating out and higher rentals for dwellings.

Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Education, Health and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 5.14%, 5.02% and 4.85% respectively year-on-year, whereas the indices of Communication and Clothing & Footwear fell by 9.02% and 6.17%. The CPI-A (103.15) and CPI-B (102.87) saw respective increases of 1.78% and 1.53% year-on-year.

The Composite CPI for May 2020 decreased by 0.10% month-to-month. Discounts on adults’ clothing and women’s footwear, as well as retreating prices of alcoholic beverages, brought down the price indices of Clothing & Footwear and Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco by 0.72% and 0.67% respectively. Despite rising prices of fresh fish, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages fell by 0.36% on account of receding prices of vegetables, fruits and fresh pork, as well as promotional offers of some eateries that reduced the charges for eating out. On the other hand, price index of Health went up by 1.14% due to higher charges for outpatient services. The CPI-A and CPI-B dropped by 0.10% and 0.09% respectively month-to-month.

For the 12 months ended May 2020, the average Composite CPI rose by 2.53% from the previous period (June 2018 to May 2019), with notable growth in the price indices of Education (+5.33%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+4.83%) and Health (+4.05%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 2.52% and 2.96% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first five months of 2020 grew by 2.30% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 2.38% and 2.24% 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 MOP12,000 to MOP35,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP36,000 to MOP62,999.