MACAU, February 25 - Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for January 2022 (103.31) rose by 0.99% year-on-year. The increment was attributed to higher wages of domestic helpers, increased charges for eating out and electricity, as well as dearer prices of gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas and fruits; however, the rise was partially offset by lower rentals for dwellings and retreating prices of pork. Among the various sections of goods and services, the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services and Transport grew by 8.97% and 4.38% year-on-year respectively, whereas the index of Communication dropped by 3.05%. The CPI-A (103.16) and CPI-B (103.51) saw respective growth of 0.75% and 1.31% year-on-year.

In comparison with December 2021, the Composite CPI for January 2022 rose by 0.24%. Higher airfares and gasoline prices, along with rising wages of domestic helpers, pushed up the price indices of Transport and Household Furnishings & Services by 1.54% and 0.92% respectively. Price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages grew by 0.37% owing to dearer eating out charges and fruit prices. On the other hand, the price indices of Communication and Housing & Fuels decreased by 1.15% and 0.15% respectively on account of reduced charges for telecommunication services and lower rentals for dwellings. The CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.19% and 0.30% month-on-month respectively.

For the 12 months ended January 2022, the average Composite CPI went up by 0.21% from the previous period, whereas the price indices of Transport (+4.19%) and Household Furnishings & Services (+4.12%) showed relatively large growth. The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.11% and 0.34% respectively over the previous period.

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.