Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for March 2022 (103.39) rose by 1.07% 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 reduced rentals for dwellings, falling charges for telecommunication services and lower prices of pork. Among the various sections of goods and services, the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services and Transport grew by 9.67% and 7.37% year-on-year respectively, whereas the index of Communication fell by 10.32%. The CPI-A (103.17) and CPI-B (103.67) saw respective growth of 0.77% and 1.48% year-on-year.

In comparison with February, the Composite CPI for March edged down by 0.02%. Price indices of Clothing & Footwear, Recreation & Culture and Housing & Fuels dropped by 1.20%, 0.67% and 0.13% respectively. Price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages went down by 0.06% month-on-month as the fall in prices of fruits and vegetables offset the increase in eating out charges. On the other hand, price index of Transport grew by 1.04% owing to a continued rise in gasoline prices. The CPI-A decreased by 0.02% month-on-month while the CPI-B was similar to that in the previous month.

For the 12 months ended March 2022, the average Composite CPI rose by 0.53% from the previous period, and the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services (+5.43%) and Transport (+5.26%) showed a notable growth. The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.38% and 0.72% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first quarter of 2022 (103.37) went up by 0.96% year-on-year; the average CPI-A (103.17) and CPI-B (103.62) grew by 0.68% and 1.33% 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.