XN000022-1991-03-26 — Page 7

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 1991

6

CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR FEBRUARY PUBLISHED

PUBLISHED

THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (TUESDAY)

THE CPI(A) AND CPI (B) CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR FEBRUARY 1991.

AT 152.7 AND 151.9 84

SEP. 85 = 100) FOR FEBRUARY 1991, RESPECTIVELY, WERE BOTH 11.9% HIGHER THAN IN FEBRUARY 1990.

THE

(OCT.

-

IN DECEMBER THE

RATES OF INCREASE CORRESPONDING JANUARY 1991 WERE 11.3% AND 10.8% RESPECTIVELY FOR CPI(A) AND 10.8% RESPECTIVELY FOR CPI (B).

1990 AND AND 11.1%

1991 THE FASTER RATES OF INCREASE IN THE INDEXES FOR FEBRUARY

PRICE INCREASES FOR SOME WERE PREDOMINANTLY DUE TO SIGNIFICANT

IN THIS REGARD, IT ESSENTIAL FOODSTUFFS AROUND THE CHINESE NEW YEAR.

IN SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THERE WAS A RELATIVELY LOW BASE OF COMPARISON

TOOK PLACE IN FEBRUARY LAST YEAR, AS THE CHINESE NEW YEAR IN 1990 JANUARY.

ENDED

THE AVERAGE CPI(A) AND AVERAGE CPI(B) FOR THE 12 MONTHS FEBRUARY 1991, AT 144.6 AND 144.1 RESPECTIVELY, WERE BOTH 10.1% HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED FEBRUARY 1990.

TAKING JANUARY AND FEBRUARY TOGETHER BOTH THE CPI(A) AND CPI(B) INCREASED BY 11.3% OVER THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD OF 1990.

WHICH CPI(A)

ON A YEAR-ON-YEAR COMPARISON, THE INDEX FOR FOODSTUFFS, HAS THE LARGEST WEIGHTING IN THE INDEX, INCREASED BY 11.6% IN

INCREASE IN CPI(A) IN AND BY 12.0% IN CPI(B). FASTER RATES OF

FOR TRANSPORT AND FEBRUARY 1991 WERE ALSO RECORDED IN THE INDEXES

ALCOHOLIC VEHICLES (16.2%), SERVICES (15.3%), FUEL AND LIGHT (15.1%), DRINKS AND TOBACCO FOR HOME CONSUMPTION (13.8%) AND HOUSING (13.2%).

IN

OVERALL

THE CORRESPONDING RATES OF INCREASE FOR THE SAME COMPONENTS

12.2% RESPECTIVELY. THE CPI(B) WERE 16.9%, 14.4%, 14.5%, 14.2% AND

91% OF THE THESE

ACCOUNTED FOR SIX

TOGETHER COMPONENTS INCREASE IN THE CPI (A) AND 89% OF THE INCREASE IN THE CPI(B).

FOR

OF

THE

COMPARING FEBRUARY 1991 WITH JANUARY 1991, THE CPI(A) INCREASED BY 2.0% AND THE CPI(B), BY 1.8%, LARGELY BECAUSE OF HIGHER PRICES

AROUND HAIRDRESSING FRESH FOOD

AND HIGHER CHARGES ITEMS CHINESE NEW YEAR, HIGHER CHARGES FOR MEALS IN RESTAURANTS EATING PLACES, AND HIGHER RENTS FOR SOME PRIVATE HOUSING UNITS.

DURING

THREE-MONTH THE

PER LOD

ENDED

FEBRUARY SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI(A) AND CPI(B) BOTH INCREASED AT RATE OF 1.0% PER MONTH.

AND OTHER

1991, AN

THE AVERAGE

THE CPI(A) AND THE CPI(B) ARE BASED ON THE EXPENDITURE PATTERNS WHICH OF 50% AND 30%, RESPECTIVELY, OF URBAN HOUSEHOLDS IN HONG KONG, WERE DERIVED FROM THE 1984/85 HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SURVEY.

$2, 000 AND

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

/CHANGES IN