Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for February 2021 (102.58) dropped by 0.95% year-on-year, smaller than the 1.18% decline in January.

The year-on-year decrease in the Composite CPI for February was mainly due to receding package tour charges and hotel room rates amid the pandemic, falling prices of gasoline and pork from their elevated levels a year ago, seasonal sale of clothing, as well as reduced charges for telecommunications services and lower vegetable prices. However, the fall in the Composite CPI eased off with rising prices of jewellery, clocks and watches, higher charges for outpatient services and domestic services, along with increasing costs of passenger transport by air.

Analysed by section of goods and services, price index of Recreation & Culture dropped markedly by 8.27% year-on-year, while price indices of Communication, Clothing & Footwear and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages dipped by 7.64%, 6.63% and 1.24% respectively. These four sections together brought about a downward contribution of 1.17 percentage points to the year-on-year change in the Composite CPI. On the other hand, price indices of Health, Household Furnishings & Services and Miscellaneous Goods & Services increased by 2.50%, 1.89% and 0.98% year-on-year respectively, which partially offset the decrease in the Composite CPI.

The Composite CPI for February grew by 0.27% month-to-month, a slight increase of 0.02 percentage points as against the month-to-month growth in January (+0.25%). Price index of Recreation & Culture went up by 2.36% on account of rising charges for some package tours to Guangdong Province during the Lunar New Year. Moreover, higher airfares and gasoline prices pushed up the price index of Transport by 1.04%. Price index of Clothing & Footwear, on the other hand, decreased by 1.37%. The CPI-A and CPI-B both rose by 0.27% month-to-month.

For the 12 months ended February 2021, the average Composite CPI increased by 0.19% from the previous period (March 2019 to February 2020), with notable growth in the price indices of Health (+3.67%), Education (+2.76%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+2.29%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.28% and 0.06% 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.