XN000022-1984-12-21 — Page 12

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1754

NOVEMBER CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES RELEASED

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THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) ROSE BY 4.2 PER CENT AND THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (B) BY 4.9 PER CENT BETWEEN NOVEMBER 1983 AND NOVEMBER 1984, ACCORDING TO FIGURES PUBLISHED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT SPOKESMAN SAID THAT THESE RATHER LOW RATES OF INCREASE LARGELY REFLECT THE SLOWDOWN IN THE RATE OF INCREASE OF PRICES SINCE THE SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE OF PRICES IN OCTOBER LAST YEAR CONSEQUENT UPON THE SHARP DEPRECIATION OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR IN SEPTEMBER 1983.

THE CP (A) AND CPI (B) FOR NOVEMBER 1984 WERE 156.2 AND 156.6 RESPECTIVELY, OR 6.4 POINTS AND 7.4 POINTS HIGHER THAN IN NOVEMBER 1983. COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING MONTH, CPI (A) INCREASED BY 0.2 POINT OR 0.1 PER CENT AND CPI (B), BY 0.4 POINT OR 0.2 PER CENT.

THE AVERAGE CPI (A) AND AVERAGE CPI (B) FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED NOVEMBER 1984, AT 154.3 AND 154.0 RESPECTIVELY, WERE 8.7 PER CENT AND 9.0 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGES FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED NOVEMBER 1983. DURING THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD ENDED NOVEMBER 1984, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI (A) INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF OR PER CENT EACH MONTH AND THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI (B), AT 0.3 PER CENT.

DURING NOVEMBER, PRIVATE DWELLING RENTALS AND PRICES OF CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR WERE HIGHER BUT FOOD PRICES DECREASED.

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) TC HOUSEHOLDS SPENDING BETWEEN $3 500 AND $6 499 A MONTH AT THAT TIME.

THE INDEXES FOR NOVEMBER 1984 IN RESPECT OF THE NINE COMMODITY-SERVICE SECTIONS IN THE TWO CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES ARE GIVEN BELOW, TOGETHER WITH THOSE FOR OCTOBER 12 AND NOVEMBER 1983.

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