WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 1934
CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR FEBRUARY
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THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) AND CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (B) FOR FEBRUARY 1984 WERE 154 AND 153 RESPECTIVELY, EACH BEING 2 POINTS OR 1.3 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN JANUARY 1984, ACCORDING TO FIGURES RELEASED TODAY (WEDNESDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1983, CPI(A) ROSE BY 16 POINTS OR 11.6
PER CENT AND CPI(B), 15 POINTS OR 10.9 PER CENT.
THE AVERAGE CPI(A) AND AVERAGE CPI(B) FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDING IN FEBRUARY 1984 WERE 146.0 AND 145.1 RESPECTIVELY, WHICH WERE 10.6 PER CENT AND 10.1 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGES FOR THE PREVIOUS 12 MONTHS.
DURING THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD ENDING IN FEBRUARY 1984, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI(A) INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 0.4 PER CENT EACH MONTH AND THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI(B), 0.5 PER CENT.
DURING FEBRUARY, FOOD PRICES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF FRESH
CHARGES FOR MEALS IN VEGETABLES AND LIVE POULTRY, WERE HIGHER. RESTAURANTS AND TAXI FARES ALSO WENT UP.
THE CPI(A) AND CPI(E) ARE BASED ON THE EXPENDITURE PATTERNS OF 50 PER CENT AND 30 PER CENT, RESPECTIVELY, OF URBAN HOUSEHOLDS IN HONG KONG, WHICH WERE DERIVED FROM THE 1979-80 HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SURVEY.
THE CPI(A) REFERRED TO HOUSEHOLDS SPENDING BETWEEN $1 000 AND $3 499 A MONTH, AND THE CPI(B) TO HOUSEHOLDS SPENDING BETWEEN $3 5JJ AND $6 499 A MONTH AT THAT TIME.
THE INDEXES FOR FEBRUARY 1984 IN RESPECT OF THE NINE COMMODITY/ SERVICE SECTIONS IN THE TWO CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES ARE GIVEN BELOW, TOGETHER WITH THOSE FOR JANUARY 1984 AND FEBRUARY 1983.
(OCTOBER 1979 TO SEPTEMBER 1980 AVERAGE
100)
CPI(A)
CPI(8)
SECTION
FEB. 83
JAN. 84 FEB. 84 FEB. 83 JAN. 84 FEB. 84
FOODSTUFFS
142
152
156
143
153
156
HOUSING
133
142
142
132
142
143
FUEL AND LIGHT
145
151
151
146
151
151
/ALCOHOLIC DRINKS