Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for June 2024 rose by 0.64% year-on-year, marking the fourth consecutive month of slowdown in growth. Among the various sections of goods and services, the price indices of Education (+5.06%), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+2.53%) and Health (+2.41%) saw notable year-on-year growth. In addition, the price indices of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.99%) and Housing & Fuels (+0.59%) went up owing to higher charges for eating out, rising rentals for dwellings, dearer prices of liquefied petroleum gas and increases in electricity charges. On the other hand, the price indices of Transport (-3.60%) and Recreation & Culture (-0.65%) dropped. The CPI-A and CPI-B recorded respective growth of 0.64% and 0.65% year-on-year.

In comparison with May, the Composite CPI edged down by 0.01% in June. The price indices of Transport (-0.36%), Household Furnishings & Services (-0.13%) and Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.08%) recorded decreases, whereas the price indices of Clothing & Footwear (+0.44%) and Recreation & Culture (+0.11%) increased. The CPI-A and CPI-B both dipped by 0.01% month-on-month.

For the 12 months ended June 2024, the average Composite CPI grew by 1.02% from the previous period. Price indices of Education (+5.81%), Recreation & Culture (+5.40%) and Clothing & Footwear (+4.13%) increased markedly, while the price index of Transport (-3.19%) decreased. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.89% and 1.18% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the second quarter of 2024 (105.38) climbed by 0.78% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B grew by 0.76% and 0.81% respectively. For the first half of 2024, the average Composite CPI rose by 0.98% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.91% and 1.08% 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.