XN000022-1992-08-27 — Page 3

I

ON

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1992

THE ACTING FINANCIAL SECRETARY, MR DAVID NENDICK,

THAT THE LATEST TREND IN RESPECT OF CPI(A) WAS ENCOURAGING.

COMMENTED

THE CPI(B) AND THE HANG SENG CPI WERE HIGHER BY 9.3% AND 10.1% RESPECTIVELY IN JULY 1992 THAN IN JULY LAST YEAR. THE CORRESPONDING INCREASES IN JUNE 1992 WERE 9.6% AND 10.0%.

THE COMPOSITE CPI, WHICH WAS COMPILED BASED ON THE COMBINED EXPENDITURE PATTERN OF HOUSEHOLDS COVERED BY THE THREE CPIS, SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 9.3% IN JULY 1992 OVER THE SAME MONTH IN 1991. CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN JUNE 1992 WAS 9.6%.

DUE TO THE SAME REASONS FOR CPI(A) THE YEAR-ON-YEAR INCREASE IN THE CPI(B) WAS SLOWER IN JULY THAN IN JUNE.

THE

RATE OF

THE YEAR-ON-YEAR RATE OF INCREASE IN THE HANG SENG CPI WAS, HOWEVER, SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN JULY 1992. THIS WAS MAINLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO A LOW BASE OF COMPARISON FOR CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR IN JULY LAST YEAR, AS A RESULT OF MAJOR SUMMER SALE IN SOME OF THE RETAIL OUTLETS.

MOREOVER, THE EFFECT OF THE SLOWER INCREASES IN PRICES OF FOOD ITEMS WAS LESS SIGNIFICANT ON THE HANG SENG CPI THAN ON THE CPI(A) AND CPI (B).

COMPARING JULY 1992 WITH JULY 1991, RELATIVELY SLOWER INCREASES IN PRICES WERE RECORDED FOR DURABLE GOODS (2.1% IN BOTH CPI(A) AND CPI(B)); FOOD (EXCLUDING MEALS AT RESTAURANTS) (4.8% IN CPI(A) AND 4.9% IN CPI(B)); TRANSPORT (6.4% AND 6.7%); MISCELLANEOUS GOODS (6.7% AND 6.5%); FUEL AND LIGHT (7.1% AND 6.9%); AND CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR (8.0% AND 7.7%).

ON THE OTHER HAND, RELATIVELY FASTER INCREASES IN PRICES WERE RECORDED FOR MEALS AT RESTAURANTS (10.2% IN THE CPI(A) AND 10.1% IN THE CPI(B)); ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO (11.2% AND 11.1%); HOUSING (12.4% AND 13.6%); AND SERVICES (12.6% AND 11.3%).

0.

COMPARING JULY 1992 WITH JUNE 1992, THE CPI(A) INCREASED BY 0.2% WHILE THE CPI(B) AND THE HANG SENG CPI INCREASED BY 3% AND 0.1% RESPECTIVELY. THIS COMPARISON WAS, HOWEVER, AFFECTED BY SEASONAL FACTORS.

THE INCREASES IN THE INDICES WERE LARGELY DUE TO HIGHER RENT FOR SOME PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HOUSING UNITS AND AN INCREASE IN THE CHARGES FOR MEALS AT RESTAURANTS, ALTHOUGH FOR THE LATTER THE YEAR-ON- YEAR RATE OF INCREASE WAS ALREADY MODERATING IN JULY. THE EFFECT OF SOME OF THESE PRICE INCREASES WAS OFFSET BY LOWER PRICES OF FRESH FRUIT AND FRESH VEGETABLES DURING THE MONTH.

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED JULY 1992, THE AVERAGE, HIGHER BY 9.0% THAN IN THE SAME PERIOD CORRESPONDING FIGURE FOR THE CPI(B) WAS 9.3%.

CPI(A) LAST

WAS, YEAR.

ON

THE

/FOR THE