Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for June 2022 (103.86) increased by 1.32% year-on-year. The increment was attributed to higher wages of domestic helpers, dearer charges for eating out, as well as rising prices of gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas; yet, 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, price indices of Household Furnishings & Services and Transport grew by 13.71% and 7.52% year-on-year respectively, whereas the index of Communication decreased by 10.24%. The CPI-A (103.57) and CPI-B (104.24) saw respective growth of 0.97% and 1.80% year-on-year.

In comparison with May, the Composite CPI for June grew by 0.21%. Higher wages of domestic helpers and dearer prices of gasoline pushed up the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services and Transport by 2.26% and 0.66% respectively. Price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 0.32% on account of increased charges for eating out and rising prices of fresh fish, vegetables and fruit. On the other hand, price indices of Recreation & Culture, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco and Housing & Fuels dropped by 0.24%, 0.21% and 0.14% respectively. The CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.17% and 0.26% month-on-month respectively.

For the 12 months ended June 2022, the average Composite CPI grew by 0.92% from the previous period, and the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services (+7.84%) and Transport (+6.48%) showed a notable growth. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.70% and 1.22% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the second quarter of 2022 (103.69) increased by 1.16% year-on-year; the average CPI-A (103.43) and CPI-B (104.02) grew by 0.83% and 1.61% respectively. For the first half of 2022, the average Composite CPI went up by 1.06% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.75% and 1.47% respectively.

DSEC compiles three separate CPI series to reflect the impact of price changes for goods/services on households of different expenditure ranges. The CPI-A and CPI-B relate to about 50% and 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP12,000-MOP35,999 and MOP36,000-MOP62,999 respectively; meanwhile, the Composite CPI relates to all the above-mentioned households.