3
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1934
AUGUST PRICES: FOOD UP, CLOTHING DOWN ******
AUGUST FOOD PRICES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF FRESH VEGETABLES, WERE IGHER, BUT, RETAIL PRICES OF CLOTHING AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS LECREASED, THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT REPORTED TODAY.
AS A RESULT, THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) AND CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (B) FOR AUGUST WERE 155.7 AND 155.4 RESPECTIVELY.
COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING MONTH, CPI (A) INCREASED BY 0.1 POINT OR 0.1 PER CENT AND CPI (B) REMAINED UNCHANGED.
WHEN COMPARED WITH AUGUST 1983, CPI (A) ROSE BY 13.1 POINTS OR 9.2 PER CENT AND CPI (B), BY 13.2 POINTS OR 9.2 PER CENT.
THE AVERAGE CPI (A) AND AVERAGE CPI (B) FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDING AUGUST 1984, AT 152.5 AND 152.0 RESPECTIVELY, WERE 10.4 PER CENT AND 10.5 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGES FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED AUGUST 1983. DURING THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD ENDING AUGUST 1984, BOTH THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI (A) AND CPI (B) INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 0.3 PER CENT EACH MONTH.
THE CPI (A) AND CPI (B) 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 $3 500 AND $6 499 A MONTH AT THAT TIME.
THE INDEXES FOR AUGUST 1984 IN RESPECT OF THE NINE COMMODITY- SERVICE SECTIONS IN THE TWO CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES ARE GIVEN BELOW, TOGETHER WITH THOSE FOR JULY 1984 AND AUGUST 1983.
(OCTOBER 1979 TO SEPTEMBER 1980 AVERAGE 100)
=
CPI(A)
CP}{B)
SECTION
AUG. 83
JUL. 84 AUG. 84
JUL. 84 AUG. 83
AUG. 84
FOODSTUFFS
144.0
156.5
156.9
144.5
156.9
157.3
HOUSING
137.7
146.1
146.2
137.6
147.0
147.0
FUEL AND LIGHT
144.7
148.7
147.2
145.4
148.4
147.1
ALCOHOLIC
183.0
208.5
208.6
176.7
201.3
201.2
DRINKS AND
TOBACCO
(FOR HOME
CONSUMPTION)
/CLOTHING AND