Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI for December 2007 rose by 0.98% over November to 118.49, the increment was mainly attributable to the increase in the price indices of Food & non-alcoholic beverages; Housing & fuels; and Recreation & culture.

Compared with November 2007, the indices of Recreation & culture, Communication and Transport recorded notable increases of 3.28%, 2.02% and 1.52% respectively, on account of higher charges for outbound package tours during Christmas holidays, reduction in the discount offered for IDD calls and rising prices of gasoline. In spite of lower prices of fresh vegetables, the index of Food & non-alcoholic beverages went up by 1.01%, as a result of dearer prices of fresh pork and beef, as well as increasing charges of meals bought away from home.

On the other hand, the index of Clothing & footwear recorded a 0.10% decrease due to the commencement of discount sale of men and women’s shoes.

The Composite CPI for December 2007 registered a year-on-year increase of 7.12%. For the fourth quarter of 2007, the Composite CPI rose by 1.62% and 6.68% over the previous quarter and the same quarter of 2006 respectively.

In addition, the CPI-A and CPI-B for December 2007 were 119.84 and 118.12, up by 0.84% and 0.93% respectively month-to-month.

The average Composite CPI for the whole year of 2007 was 114.46 and the annual inflation rate was 5.57%, with marked increases in the indices of Housing & fuels (+9.55%), Food & non-alcoholic beverages (+8.19%), as well as Miscellaneous goods & services (+3.69%). The annual average CPI-A and CPI-B for 2007 was 115.93 and 114.09 respectively, up by 5.92% and 5.49% over 2006.

The Composite CPI reflects the impacts of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 49% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP 3,000 to MOP 9,999. The CPI-B relates to about 31% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP 10,000 to MOP 19,999.