MONDAY, MARCH 24, 1986
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CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR FEBRUARY ******
THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) ROSE BY 3.2 PER CENT AND THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (B) BY 3.6 PER CENT IN FEBRUARY 1986 COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1985, ACCORDING TO FIGURES PUBLISHED TODAY (MONDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THE CPI(A) AND CPI(B) FOR FEBRUARY 1986 WERE 162.9 AND 163.7 RESPECTIVELY. COMPARED WITH JANUARY 1986 AND BEARING IN MIND THAT THIS COMPARISON MAY BE AFFECTED BY SEASONAL FACTORS. CPI(A) INCREASED BY 1.3 PER CENT AND CPI(B), BY 1.2 PER CENT.
THE AVERAGE CPI(A) AND AVERAGE CPI(B) FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED FEBRUARY 1986, AT 160.5 AND 161.0 RESPECTIVELY, WERE 3.1 PER CENT AND 3.5 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGES FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED FEBRUARY 1985.
DURING THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD ENDED FEBRUARY 1986, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI(A) INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 0.2 PER CENT PER MONTH AND THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CP1(3), 0.3 PER CENT PER MONTH.
AT
DURING FEBRUARY, FOOD PRICES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF FRESH VEGETABLES AND LIVE POULTRY, WERE HIGHER. PRIVATE DWELLING RENTALS AND CHARGES FOR MEALS IN RESTAURANTS AND OTHER EATING PLACES, CINEMA ENTERTAINMENT AND HAIRDRESSING ALSO WENT UP. ON THE OTHER HAND, PRICES OF CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR WERE LOWER.
THE CPI(A) AND CP1(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) REFERS TO HOUSEHOLDS SPENDING BETWEEN $1 000 AND $3 499 A MONTH AT THAT TIME, AND THE CPI(B), BETWEEN $3 500 AND $6 499 A MONTH.
CHANGES IN THE INDEXES FOR FEBRUARY 1986 IN RESPECT OF THE NINE COMMODITY/SERVICE SECTIONS IN THE TWO CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES, AS COMPARED WITH JANUARY 1986 AND FEBRUARY 1985, ARE GIVEN BELOW.
/(OCTOBER 1979