XN000022-1988-04-26 — Page 5

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 1988

CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR MARCH PUBLISHED

THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (TUESDAY) PUBLISHED THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR MARCH 1988.

THE CPI (A) AND CP1 (B) (OCT. 84/SEP. 85 = 100) FOR MARCH 1988 AND 7.0 PER WERE BOTH 114.5, REPRESENTING INCREASES OF 7.1 PER CENT CENT RESPECTIVELY OVER MARCH 1987.

COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1988 AND BEARING IN MIND THAT THIS COMPARISON MAY BE AFFECTED BY SEASONAL FACTORS, THE CPI (A) INCREASED BY 0.5 PER CENT AND THE CPI (B), BY 0.4 PER CENT.

СРІ THE AVERAGE OPI (A) AND AVERAGE

(B) FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED MARCH 1988, AT 111.2 AND 111.3 RESPECTIVELY, WERE 6.1 PER CENT

THAN THE AND 5.9 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY HIGHER

AVERAGE FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED MARCH 1987.

DURING THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD ENDED MARCH 1988, THE SEASONALLY

OF ADJUSTED CPI (A) INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE

0.3 PER CENT PER MONTH AND THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI (B), AT 0.4 PER CENT PER MONTH.

THE CPI (A) AND THE 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 1984-85 HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SURVEY.

THE CPI (A) REFERS TO HOUSEHOLDS SPENDING BETWEEN $2,000 AND $6,499 A MONTH AT THAT TIME AND THE CPI (B) BETWEEN $6,500 AND $9,999 A MONTH.

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