MACAU, December 22 - Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for November 2021 (103.06) rose by 1.21% year-on-year. The increment was attributed to dearer prices of gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas, higher charges for eating out, as well as increasing airfares and wages of domestic helpers; however, the rise was partially offset by lower rentals for dwellings and retreating prices of pork. Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Transport and Household Furnishings & Services surged by 8.59% and 6.67% year-on-year respectively, whereas the indices of Communication and Recreation & Culture fell by 2.01% and 1.40%. The CPI-A (103.00) and CPI-B (103.14) saw respective increases of 1.04% and 1.43% year-on-year.

The Composite CPI for November grew by 0.21% month-on-month. Rising wages of domestic helpers and dearer gasoline prices pushed up the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services and Transport by 2.08% and 0.62% respectively. Notwithstanding the receding pork prices, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 0.13% on account of higher prices of fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, price index of Housing & Fuels edged up by 0.02% as lower rentals for dwellings offset the increase in the prices of liquefied petroleum gas. The CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.18% and 0.26% month-on-month respectively.

For the 12 months ended November 2021, the average Composite CPI went down by 0.13% compared to the previous 12 months, with notable decline in the price indices of Recreation & Culture (-6.76%) and Communication (-6.36%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B decreased by 0.18% and 0.06% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first eleven months of 2021 dropped by 0.06% year-on-year. The average CPI-A fell by 0.12% while the average CPI-B inched up by 0.02%.

The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general households in Macao. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP12,000 to MOP35,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP36,000 to MOP62,999.