Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI (103.15) for November 2014 increased by 6.12% year-on-year, attributable to higher rentals for dwellings and dearer charges for eating out. In comparison with November 2013, notable increase was observed in the price index of Housing & Fuels (+11.75%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+6.30%) and Health (+5.42%) on account of rising rentals for dwellings, as well as higher charges for eating out and out-patient services. On the contrary, price index of Communication decreased slightly by 0.02%. The CPI-A (103.26) and CPI-B (102.22) increased by 6.71% and 5.80% respectively year-on-year. The Composite CPI for November 2014 increased by 0.46% month-to-month. Higher prices of women's clothing and rising charges for out-patient services drove up the price index of Clothing & Footwear and Health by 2.20% and 1.84% respectively. On the other hand, price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco and Miscellaneous Goods & Services decreased by 1.30% and 0.57% respectively due to lower prices of tobacco, alcoholic beverages and gold jewellery. Meanwhile, receding prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and gasoline tapered off the increase of the Composite CPI. The CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.48% and 0.30% respectively month-to-month. For the 12 months ended November 2014, the average Composite CPI increased by 6.06% from the previous period. Price index of Housing & Fuels (+11.86%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+6.16%) registered remarkable increase, while price index of Communication decreased by 0.45%. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 6.58% and 5.94% respectively. The average Composite CPI for the first eleven months of 2014 increased by 6.09% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 6.61% and 5.96% respectively. The 2013/2014-based Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general households. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP10,000 to MOP29,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP30,000 to MOP54,999.
