Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for November 2023 (105.05) grew by 1.16% year-on-year. The increment was attributed to dearer charges for eating out, rising tuition fees, as well as increases in prices of clothing and liquefied petroleum gas; yet, the rise was partially offset by falling pork prices, lower rentals for dwellings and decreases in airfares and wages of domestic helpers. Among the various sections of goods and services, the price indices of Clothing & Footwear, Education and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 5.03%, 5.02% and 2.61% year-on-year respectively, whereas the indices of Transport, Household Furnishings & Services and Housing & Fuels dropped by 3.26%, 0.75% and 0.50% respectively. The CPI-A (104.49) and CPI-B (105.80) recorded respective growth of 1.02% and 1.35% year-on-year.

In comparison with October, the Composite CPI rose by 0.03% in November. Price indices of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, Health and Housing & Fuels climbed by 0.71%, 0.32% and 0.29% respectively, owing to higher prices of alcoholic beverages, rising charges for outpatient services and dearer prices of liquefied petroleum gas. On the other hand, price indices of Recreation & Culture and Transport saw respective decreases of 0.61% and 0.22% month-on-month. Price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages dropped by 0.16% as falling prices of pork and vegetables tempered the rise in eating out charges and fruit prices. The CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.02% and 0.03% month-on-month respectively.

For the 12 months ended November 2023, the average Composite CPI grew by 0.88% from the previous period, and the price indices of Education (+8.67%) and Recreation & Culture (+4.06%) showed notable growth. The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.66% and 1.18% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first eleven months of 2023 rose by 0.89% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.68% and 1.18% 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. The Composite CPI relates to all the above-mentioned households; Housing & Fuels, Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Transport accounted for relatively large proportions of household expenditure, with respective weights of 33.75, 27.94 and 7.84.