Macau’s composite consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 3.31 per cent in March from a year earlier, according to official data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) revealed on Thursday. This is a decrease of 0.57 per centage points from the 3.88 per cent 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 37.36 per cent, 8.97 per cent and 7.70 per cent respectively.
The CPI for March fell by 0.36 per cent month-to-month. The price indexes of Recreation & Culture and Clothing & Footwear fell by 7.97 per cent and 1.96 per cent 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 2.66 per cent 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 3.67 per cent year-on-year, with the price indexes of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, Education and Transport rising by 38.56 per cent, 8.93 per cent and 6.72 per cent respectively.
(Macaunews/macaupost)
