Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI (103.13) for April 2020 increased by 2.05% year-on-year, a slowdown of 0.42 percentage points from the growth in March (+2.47%). The increment was attributable to higher prices of fresh pork, dearer charges for eating out and rising rentals for dwellings.

Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Education rose by 5.31% and 5.14% respectively year-on-year, whereas the indices of Communication and Clothing & Footwear fell by 8.93% and 4.41%. The CPI-A (103.26) and CPI-B (102.96) saw respective increases of 2.15% and 2.04% year-on-year.

The Composite CPI for April 2020 decreased by 0.16% month-to-month. Receding prices of gasoline, electricity and Liquefied Petroleum Gas drove down the price indices of Transport and Housing & Fuels by 1.60% and 0.22% respectively. On the other hand, price index of Health grew by 0.37% on account of rising charges for outpatient services. Despite dearer prices of fresh pork, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages edged up by a mere 0.01% owing to reduced prices of fruits and discounts offered by some eateries that lowered the charges for eating out. The CPI-A and CPI-B dropped by 0.15% and 0.16% respectively month-to-month.

For the 12 months ended April 2020, the average Composite CPI rose by 2.62% from the previous period, with notable growth in the price indices of Education (+5.39%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+4.68%) and Transport (+4.16%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 2.59% and 3.10% respectively over the previous period.

The average Composite CPI for the first four months of 2020 grew by 2.46% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 2.53% and 2.41% 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.