XN000022-1989-04-25 — Page 2

TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1989

CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR MARCH 1989

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THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (TUESDAY)

THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR MARCH 1989.

PUBLISHED

THE CPI(A) AND CPI(B) (OCT. 84 SEP. 85 = 100) FOR MARCH 1989 WERE 125.4 AND 125.1 RESPECTIVELY, REPRESENTING INCREASES OF 9.5 PER CENT AND 9.2 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY OVER MARCH 1988.

THESE RATES OF INCREASE WERE SOMEWHAT

LOWER THAN THOSE

RECORDED IN FEBRUARY 1989.

COMPARING MARCH WITH FEBRUARY 1989, THE CPI(A) 0.5 PER CENT AND THE CPI(D) BY 0.3 PER CENT, LARGELY PRICES OF MOST FOODSTUFFS AND SOME SERVICE CHARGES WERE THE CHINESE NEW YEAR.

DECREASED BY BECAUSE THE LOWER AFTER

THE AVERAGE CPI(A) AND AVERAGE CPI(B) FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED MARCH 1989, AT 120.3 AND 120.2 RESPECTIVELY, WERE 8.2 PER CENT AND 8.1 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED MARCH 1988.

DURING THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD ENDED MARCH 1989, THE SBASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI(A) AND CPI (B) BOTH INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 0.9 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.

CHANGES IN THE INDEXES FOR MARCH 1989 IN RESPECT OF THE NINE COMMODITY/SERVICE SECTIONS IN THE TWO CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES, AS COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1989 AND MARCH 1988, ARE GIVEN BELOW.

(OCTOBER 1984