Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for August 2024 rose by 0.74% year-on-year, down by 0.08 percentage points from the growth in July (+0.82%).

Among the various sections of goods and services, the price indices of Education (+5.03%), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+2.57%) and Health (+2.05%) saw notable year-on-year growth. In addition, the price indices of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.90%) and Housing & Fuels (+0.81%) went up owing to higher charges for eating out, dearer vegetable prices, rising rentals for dwellings and increasing prices of liquefied petroleum gas. On the other hand, the price indices of Transport (-3.11%) and Household Furnishings & Services (-0.36%) dropped. The CPI-A and CPI-B both grew by 0.74% year-on-year.

In comparison with July, the Composite CPI decreased by 0.04% in August. The price indices of Clothing & Footwear (-0.93%), Transport (-0.18%) and Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.16%) fell, and the price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (-0.08%) went down owing to lower prices of fresh fish, fruits and chilled/frozen poultry. In contrast, the price indices of Recreation & Culture (+0.88%) and Health (+0.05%) increased. The CPI-A and CPI-B dropped by 0.04% and 0.05% month-on-month respectively.

For the 12 months ended August 2024, the average Composite CPI grew by 1.00% from the previous period. Price indices of Education (+5.04%), Recreation & Culture (+4.23%) and Clothing & Footwear (+3.46%) increased markedly, while the price index of Transport (-3.01%) fell. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.91% and 1.12% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first eight months of 2024 climbed by 0.93% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.87% and 1.01% 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.