XN000022-1990-10-25 — Page 5

I

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1990

AND

FOR THE PERIOD OF JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1990, THE AVERAGE CPI(A) AVERAGE CPI (B) BOTH INCREASED BY 9.4 PER CENT OVER THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD OF 1989.

OYER

IN

ON A YEAR-ON-YEAR COMPARISON, THE FASTER RATES OF INCREASE CPI (A) IN SEPTEMBER 1990 WERE RECORDED IN THE INDEXES FOR ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO (FOR HOME CONSUMPTION), TRANSPORT AND VEHICLES, FUEL AND LIGHT, AND SERVICES AT 18.2 PER CENT, 13.9 PER CENT, 13.2 PER CENT AND 13.0 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.

IN

THE CORRESPONDING RATES OF INCREASE FOR THE SAME COMPONENTS THE CPI(B) WERE 18.0 PER CENT, 14.8 PER CENT, 12.0 PER CENT AND 12.2 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.

THE INDEX FOR FOODSTUFFS, WHICH HAS THE LARGEST WEIGHTING IN THE OVERALL INDEX, INCREASED BY 9.1 PER CENT IN CPI(A) AND BY 9.5 PER CENT IN CPI(B).

THESE FIVE COMPONENTS TOGETHER ACCOUNTED FOR 76 PER CENT OF THE OVERALL INCREASE IN THE CPI(A) AND 70 PER CENT OF THE INCREASE IN THE CPI(B).

COMPARING SEPTEMBER 1990 WITH AUGUST 1990, THE CPI(A) INCREASED BY 1.8 PER CENT AND THE CPI (B), BY 1.6 PER CENT, LARGELY BECAUSE OF INCREASES IN SCHOOL FEES AND PRICES OF TEXTBOOKS, HIGHER RENTS FOR SOME PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HOUSING UNITS, INCREASES IN THE PRICES OF FRESH VEGETABLES AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, AND HIGHER CHARGES FOR MEALS IN RESTAURANTS AND OTHER EATING PLACES.

THE AVERAGE CPI(A) AND AVERAGE CPI (B) FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED IN SEPTEMBER 1990, AT 138.4 AND 138.0 RESPECTIVELY, WERE 9.5 PER CENT AND 9.4 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 1989.

PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER

DURING THE THREE-MONTH

1990, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI(A) AND CPI(B) BOTH INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 0.9 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 $6,499 A MONTH AT THAT TIME AND THE CPI(B) BETWEEN $6,500 AND $9,999 A MONTH.

AND

CHANGES IN THE INDEXES FOR SEPTEMBER 1990 IN RESPECT OF THE NINE COMMODITY/SERVICE SECTIONS IN THE TWO CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES, COMPARED WITH AUGUST 1990 AND SEPTEMBER 1989, ARE GIVEN BELOW.

AS

(OCTOBER 1984