Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI in May 2018 increased by 2.97% year-on-year to 112.44, slightly higher than the 2.88% growth in April 2018. The increment in May was attributable to dearer charges for eating out, higher rentals for dwellings and parking meter rates, as well as rising prices of gasoline and women’s clothing & footwear.

Among  the various  sections  of  goods  and  services, price  indices  of Clothing & Footwear, Transport and Health went up by 6.68%, 6.07% and 4.90% respectively year-on-year,  while  the  index  of  Communication  decreased  markedly  by  7.80%. The  CPI-A  (112.55)  and  CPI-B  (111.53)  rose  by  2.97%  and  2.93%  respectively year-on-year.

The Composite CPI in May 2018 increased by 0.37% month-to-month. Price indices of Clothing & Footwear, Health and Transport grew by 2.59%, 1.34% and 0.61% on account of new arrival of women’s summer clothing and footwear, rising charges for in-patient and out-patient services, as well as higher prices of gasoline. Meanwhile, dearer charges for eating out and higher prices of fresh fish and seafood drove up the price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by 0.26%; yet receding prices of vegetables and fresh pork tapered off part of the increase. On the other hand, lower prices of gold jewellery and other personal effects (e.g. handbags and wallets) pushed  down  the  price  index  of  Miscellaneous  Goods  &  Services  by 0.26%. The CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.38% and 0.23% respectively month-to-month.

For the 12 months ended May 2018, the average Composite CPI grew by 1.96% from the previous period, with notable increases in the price indices of Education (+4.99%) and Health (+4.88%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 1.96% and 1.98% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first five months of 2018 increased by 2.67% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 2.66% and 2.81% 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 MOP10,000 to MOP29,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP30,000 to MOP54,999.