Fuel prices push Macau inflation higher in April

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), the indicator of price inflation in Macau, recorded a 1.21% year-over-year increase in April and a 0.31% month-over-month increase, according to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

According to the official statistics, the Composite CPI also grew by 0.61% over the 12 months ending in April (May 2025 to April 2026), compared with the previous equivalent period.

The DSEC noted that fuel price increases played a decisive role in the rise in the CPI, despite several categories of goods and services recording significant increases.

Still, as mentioned, the Transport index grew more than the others, recording a 3.97% increase in April year over year due to higher gasoline prices.

In addition, the price indices for Miscellaneous Goods & Services (such as personal care products, insurance, jewelry, clocks and watches) and Clothing & Footwear showed year-over-year growth of 3.61% and 2.33%, respectively.

Following the same trend, the price index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 1.11% year over year due to higher charges for eating out and takeaway food.

The CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 1.06% and 1.33% year over year, respectively.

Transport index rises 2.5%

Compared with March, the Composite CPI rose by 0.31% in April, led by the Transport and Clothing & Footwear indices, which climbed by 2.47% and 1.44% month over month, respectively.

In contrast to what was observed year over year, the price index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages edged down by 0.05% month over month, while the CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.21% and 0.39%, respectively.

For the 12 months ended April this year, the average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.54% and 0.66%, respectively, over the previous period, with the increase becoming more pronounced in the first four months of this year (January to April), when the average Composite CPI grew by 0.99%. The average CPI-A and CPI-B climbed by 0.91% and 1.06%, respectively.

The DSEC compiles three separate CPI series to reflect the impact of price changes for goods and services on households of different expenditure ranges.

The CPI-A and CPI-B cover about 50% and 30% of households, with average monthly expenditures of MOP11,000 to MOP35,999 and MOP36,000 to MOP71,999, respectively. Meanwhile, the Composite CPI covers all the abovementioned households. Housing & Fuels, Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Transport accounted for relatively large proportions of household expenditure, with respective weights of 34.47, 29.47 and 8.33.