Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI (103.56) for February 2020 increased by 2.33% year-on-year, a slowdown of 0.65 percentage points from the growth in January 2020 (+2.98%). The increment was attributable to higher charges for eating out, rising rentals for dwellings as well as dearer prices of fresh pork, gasoline and Liquefied Petroleum Gas.

Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Education surged by 6.08% and 5.14% respectively year-on-year, whereas the indices of Communication, Recreation & Culture and Clothing & Footwear fell by 8.80%, 5.91% and 5.16%. The CPI-A (103.68) and CPI-B (103.41) saw respective increases of 2.42% and 2.24% year-on-year.

The Composite CPI for February 2020 edged up by 0.04% month-to-month. Price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages jumped by 1.23% on account of dearer prices of vegetables, fresh pork, fresh fish and seafood, as well as rising charges for eating out. Price index of Housing & Fuels went up by 0.20% owing to increases in Liquefied Petroleum Gas prices and electricity charges. On the other hand, lower charges for vacation packages and falling airfares dragged down the price indices of Recreation & Culture (-4.21%) and Transport (-1.60%). The CPI-A grew by 0.13% month-to-month while the CPI-B dropped by 0.09%.

For the 12 months ended February 2020, the average Composite CPI increased by 2.71% from the previous period, with notable growth in the price indices of Education (+5.52%), Transport (+4.81%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+4.30%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 2.66% and 3.24% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first two months of 2020 went up by 2.65% year-on-year, with the average CPI-A and CPI-B rising by 2.71% and 2.59% respectively.

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.