Consumer prices
6.7
Consumer prices, as measured by the Consumer Price
Index (A),
9.3% higher in the first nine months of 1983
than in the same period last year. The increase in the third
quarter was 9.1%. The seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index
(A) during the three months ending September 1983 rose on
average by 0.8% each month. The equivalent rate of
of increase
recorded for the Consumer price Index (B) and the Hang Seng
Consumer Price Index,
Price Index, seasonally adjusted, were 0.8% and 0.6%
respectively. The following table shows the price movements in
the Consumer Price indexes (A) and (B) and the Hang Seng
Consumer Price Index:
Consumer price indexes
(October 1979 to September 1980 average
100)
Year-on-
year rate
Seng year rate
CPI (A) of increase CPI (B) of increase CPI of increase
Year-on- year rate
Hang
Year-on-
(*)
( 8 )
(%)
1982 Oct
134
8.1
134
8.
9
134
9.8
Nov 134
8.1
134
8.9
136
11.5
Dec
135
9.8
135
9.8
136
11.5
1983 Jan 135
8.0
135
8.0
136
9.7
Feb 138
8.7
138
9.5
138
10.4
Mar 140
10.2
139
10.3
140
11.1
Apr
142
11.8
140
10.2
142
11.8
May
140
8.5
140
8. 5
142
10.1
Jun
142
9.2
141
8.5
143
9.2
Jul 142
8.4
142
8.4
144
9.9
Aug
143
8.3
142
8.4
144
9.1
Sep 146
10.6
145
9.8
146
9.8
6.8
Among all the components of goods and services in the
various Consumer Price Indexes, alcoholic drinks and tobacco,
foodstuffs, services, and transport and vehicles recorded the most rapid rates of price increase during the first nine months of 1983. Using the Consumer Price Index (A) for illustration,
the prices of these components were 45%, 9%, 98% and 98%
respectively higher in September 1983 than in December 1982. While these four components together accounted for 79% of the overall increase in the Consumer Price Index (A) over this
/nine-month
45