XN000022-1989-05-23 — Page 8

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TUESDAY, MAY 23, 1989

CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR APRIL 1989

THE

THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (TUESDAY) CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR APRIL 1989.

PUBLISHED

APRIL 1989

THE CPI(A) AND CPI(B) (OCT. 84/SEP. 85 = 1001 FOR WERE 127.3 AND 127.0 RESPECTIVELY, REPRESENTING INCREASES OF 9.6 PER CENT AND 9.3 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY OVER APRIL 1988.

THESE RATES OF INCREASE WERE SIMILAR TO THOSE RECORDED FOR MARCH 1989, WHEN THEY WERE 9.5 PER CENT AND 9.2 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.

COMPARING APRIL WITH MARCH 1989, THE CPI(A) AND THE CPI(B) BOTH INCREASED BY 1.5 PER CENT, LARGELY BECAUSE OF HIGHER PRICES OF MOST FOODSTUFFS AND OUTERCLOTHING AND HIGHER RENTS FOR SOME PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HOUSING UNITS.

THE AVERAGE CPI(A) AND AVERAGE CPI(B) FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED APRIL 1989, AT 121.3 AND 121.1 RESPECTIVELY, WERE 8.4 PER CENT AND 8.2 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED APRIL 1988.

DURING THE 3-MONTH PERIOD ENDED APRIL 1989, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI(A) AND CPI(B) INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 0.8 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 CP1(B) BETWEEN $6,500 AND $9,999 A MONTH.

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

(OCTOBER 1984