Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for April 2022 (103.56) rose by 1.06% year-on-year. The increment was attributed to higher wages of domestic helpers, dearer charges for eating out and electricity, as well as increasing gasoline prices and airfares; however, the rise was partially offset by lower rentals for dwellings, reduced charges for telecommunication services and falling prices of pork. Among the various sections of goods and services, the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services and Transport grew by 11.02% and 7.64% year-on-year respectively, whereas the index of Communication fell by 10.34%. The CPI-A (103.32) and CPI-B (103.87) saw respective growth of 0.73% and 1.50% year-on-year.

In comparison with March, the Composite CPI for April rose by 0.16%. Price indices of Household Furnishings & Services and Transport went up by 1.37% and 0.43% respectively, driven by higher wages of domestic helpers, dearer prices of gasoline and rising rentals for parking spaces in a few private car parks. Despite a drop in vegetable prices, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 0.10% month-on-month on account of the increases in fruit prices and eating out charges. On the other hand, price indices of Recreation & Culture and Miscellaneous Goods & Services recorded respective decreases of 0.15% and 0.13%. The CPI-A and CPI-B grew by 0.14% and 0.19% month-on-month respectively.

For the 12 months ended April 2022, the average Composite CPI went up by 0.67% from the previous period, and the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services (+6.17%) and Transport (+5.80%) showed a notable growth. The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.50% and 0.90% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first four months of 2022 rose by 0.98% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B grew by 0.69% and 1.37% 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.