INFLATION AT 8-MONTH LOW

2014/10/22

From：Macau Business Daily

Inflation reached 5.82 percent in September. Below 6 percent, thus an eight-month low. Food prices increased 5.2 percent. But rents surged 12.2 percent.

The slowdown in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices caused inflation in Macau to sink to its lowest level in eight months in September. This, despite another record increase in housing and fuel costs for the citizenry.
According to data revealed by the Statistics and Census Services (DSEC) yesterday, inflation in Macau locked in at 5.82 percent in September, meaning that prices on average went up 5.82 percent compared to a year ago. From August, prices accelerated 0.53 percent, the report said.
Despite seeing an almost 6 percent hike in prices, September’s inflation value was the lowest recorded here since February, the statistics bureau data revealed. That month, inflation topped 5.65 percent, still a record low for the year.
The main driver of the slowdown of inflation in Macau last month was food and non-alcoholic beverages, the largest component of the basket used to calculate price variations in Macau, and responsible for 32.8 percent of its value. Food prices increased 5.46 percent in September from a year ago. This hike was not only behind the inflation level last month but also the smallest rise since 2012.
Housing cost rises continue unabated, however. In September, prices of houses and rents went up by 12.15 percent year-on-year, the largest increase since April.
Last month, only communication services registered a price decline (-0.13 percent). All other products’ and services’ prices increased. After housing and food, health services, recreation and culture, household goods and alcohol reported price increases above 2 percent.
In September, the inflation index value reached 132.3 points, which means that since 2009 prices in Macau went up by 32.3 percent. For the 12 months ended in September this year, the inflation rate stayed at 6.03 percent.
Compared to August, prices here increased 0.53 percent last month. The statistics office justified the jump with ‘higher tuition fees in the new academic year, rising rentals and charges for eating out, as well as dearer prices of fresh vegetables, fruits and pork pushed up the price index of Education, Housing & Fuels and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by 2.63 percent, 1.04 percent and 0.92 percent.’
One of the aspects that inflation data in Macau continues to reveal is that families on lower incomes are suffering more price pressure than the ones with higher purchasing power. Inflation for households with an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999 ( representing 50 percent of Macau families) reached 6.25 percent. Households with a monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999 saw prices directed at them go up only 5.72 percent, the statistics and census services revealed.

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