Inflation growth slows in March

Macau’s composite consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 3.31 percent in March from a year earlier, according to official data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) revealed yesterday. ,This is a decrease of 0.57 percentage points from the 3.88 percent year-on-year growth recorded in February.
DSEC attributed this growth to rising tobacco taxes, tuition fees, rental costs of parking spaces and motor car prices, which drove up the price indexes of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, Education and Transport by 37.36pct, 8.97pct and 7.70pct respectively.
The CPI for March fell by 0.36 pct month-to-month. The price indexes of Recreation & Culture and Clothing & Footwear fell by 7.97pct and 1.96 pct respectively, partially as a result of reduced package tour prices following the Lunar New Year and seasonal sales of winter clothing. On the other hand, the price index of Transport increased by 2.66pct due to higher rental costs for parking spaces and dearer prices for motorcars, while declining airfares limited that increase.
The DSEC figures indicate that the average CPI for the first quarter of 2016 increased by 3.67pct year-on-
year, with the price indexes of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, Education and Transport rising by 38.56 pct, 8.93pct and 6.72pct respectively.