Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI (117.82) for August 2012 increased by 6.33% year-on-year, attributable to rising charges for meals bought away from home and dearer prices of vegetables. For the 12 months ended August 2012, the average Composite CPI increased by 6.46% from the preceding period; the average CPI-A and CPI-B also rose by 6.54% and 6.68% respectively. In comparison with August 2011, notable increase was observed in the price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+33.33%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+8.44%); and Housing & Fuels (+8.17%) on account of dearer prices of vegetables and rising charges for meals bought away from home. The CPI-A (117.34) and CPI-B (118.38) increased by 6.86% and 6.48% respectively year-on-year. The Composite CPI increased by 0.23% month-to-month. Dearer prices for gasoline, vegetables, as well as higher charges for outbound package tours and meals bought away from home drove up the price index of Transport; Recreation & Culture; and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by 2.23%, 0.74% and 0.56% respectively. On the other hand, price index of Clothing & Footwear and Housing & Fuels dropped by 2.34% and 0.35% upon seasonal sale of Summer clothing and lower prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas. The CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.25% and 0.23% month-to-month. The average Composite CPI for the first eight months of 2012 increased by 6.36% year-on-year, of which the price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+30.12%); and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+9.22%) registered remarkable increase, while that of Communication decreased by 5.78%. The CPI-A and CPI-B for the first eight months of 2012 rose by 6.58% and 6.60% respectively year-on-year. The 2008/2009-based Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999.
