Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for October 2023 (105.02) grew by 1.10% year-on-year. The increment was attributed to dearer charges for eating out, rising tuition fees, as well as higher prices of clothing and gasoline; yet, the rise was partially offset by falling airfares and lower rentals for dwellings. Among the various sections of goods and services, the price indices of Clothing & Footwear, Education and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 5.36%, 5.06% and 2.79% year-on-year respectively, whereas the indices of Transport, Communication and Housing & Fuels dropped by 2.70%, 1.62% and 1.04% respectively. The CPI-A (104.46) and CPI-B (105.77) recorded respective growth of 0.94% and 1.30% year-on-year.

In comparison with September, the Composite CPI rose by 0.16% in October. Price indices of Recreation & Culture and Clothing & Footwear registered respective increases of 1.37% and 1.30%. In addition, price indices of Transport and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 0.39% and 0.18% respectively on account of higher gasoline prices and airfares, along with rising fruit prices and eating out charges. On the other hand, price index of Housing & Fuels dropped by 0.07% attributable to lower electricity charges. The CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.15% and 0.17% month-on-month respectively.

For the 12 months ended October 2023, the average Composite CPI grew by 0.85% from the previous period, and the price indices of Education (+9.12%) and Household Furnishings & Services (+4.37%) showed notable growth. The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.61% and 1.16% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first ten months of 2023 rose by 0.87% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.65% and 1.16% 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.