Macao consumer price index up by 2.66 pct in March

MACAO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The composite consumer price index (CPI) of Macao in March increased by 2.66 percent year-on-year to 111.67, a slowdown from the 3.12 percent growth in February, the special administrative region's statistic service said here on Saturday.

The latest report issued by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) said that the increment in March was attributable to dearer charges for eating out, higher rentals for dwellings, as well as increasing parking meter rates and prices of adults' clothing.

Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of clothing and footwear, health, and education went up by 6.38 percent, 4.84 percent and 4.21 percent respectively year-on-year, while the index of communication dropped markedly by 11.12 percent.

The report added that the composite CPI in March decreased by 0.45 percent month-to-month. Receding charges for package tours and airfares after the Chinese Lunar New Year, and seasonal sale of women's winter clothing brought down the price indices of recreation and culture, clothing and footwear, and transport by 6.29 percent, 1.19 percent and 0.78 percent respectively.

For the 12 months ended March 2018, the average composite CPI grew by 1.62 percent from the previous period, with notable increases in the price indices of education (5.53 percent) and health (4.76 percent). Enditem