January inflation rises 1.74pct

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the composite CPI in January 2018 rose by 1.74 percent year-on-year to 111.14, a slowdown from the 2.04 percent increase in December 2017. The increment in January was attributable to higher charges for eating out, dearer prices of women’s winter clothing and footwear, as well as rising parking meter rates and rentals for dwellings.

Among the various sections of goods and services, price indexes of clothing and footwear, health and education went up by 6.09 percent, 4.58 percent and 4.21 percent respectively year-on-year, while those of communication fell 11.32 percent and recreation and culture dropped 5.61 percent respectively.

The composite CPI in January 2018 edged up by 0.06 percent month-to-month.

For the 12 months ended January 2018, the average composite CPI grew by 1.23 percent from the previous period, with notable increases in the price indexes of Education (+6.06 percent) and Health (+4.53 percent); meanwhile, the price index of communication (-5.47 percent) decreased.

The composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general households in Macau and is a key indicator of inflationary pressure within an economy.