XN000022-1994-04-22 — Page 12

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FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 1994

THE CPI(B) AND THE HANG SENG CPI WERE HIGHER BY 8.2% AND RESPECTIVELY IN MARCH 1994 THAN IN THE SAME MONTH LAST YEAR. CORRESPONDING INCREASES IN FEBRUARY 1994 WERE 8.1% AND 9.8%.

9.2%

THE

THE COMPOSITE CPI, WHICH IS COMPILED BASED ON THE COMBINED EXPENDITURE PATTERN OF HOUSEHOLDS COVERED BY THE THREE CPIS, SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 8.4% IN MARCH 1994 OVER THE SAME MONTH IN 1993. THIS WAS THE SAME AS THE CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN FEBRUARY 1994.

PRICE

COMPARING MARCH 1994 WITH MARCH 1993, RELATIVELY SLOWER INCREASES THAN THE OVERALL AVERAGE WERE RECORDED FOR FUEL AND LIGHT (2.4% IN THE CPI(A) AND 2.5% IN THE CPI(B)); DURABLE GOODS (2.9% AND 3.0%); CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR (5.0% AND 4.7%); ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO (5.7% AND 6.3%); FOOD (EXCLUDING MEALS AT RESTAURANTS) (5.9% AND 5.8%); AND MISCELLANEOUS GOODS (6,5% AND 5.7%).

ON

THE OTHER HAND, RELATIVELY FASTER PRICE INCREASES THAN THE OVERALL AVERAGE WERE RECORDED FOR MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES (11.4% IN THE CPI(A) AND 10.6% IN THE CPI (B)); TRANSPORT (10.2% AND 9.7%); AND HOUSING (9.9% AND 10.7%).

AS FOR MEALS AT RESTAURANTS, THE CORRESPONDING 8.3% IN THE CPI(A) AND 8.2% IN THE CPIB).

INCREASE WAS

COMPARING ·MARCH 1994 WITH FEBRUARY 1994, THE CPI(A) DECREASED BY 0.1% WHILE THE CPI(B) INCREASED BY 0.1%. HOWEVER, THIS COMPARISON COULD HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY SEASONAL FACTORS.

FOR

ON

THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994, THE CPI(A) AND CPI(B) WERE, AVERAGE, HIGHER BY 7.3% AND 7.7% RESPECTIVELY THAN IN THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.

FOR ON

THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 1994, THE CPI(A) AND CPI(B) WERE,

AVERAGE, HIGHER BY 8.1% AND 8.3% RESPECTIVELY THAN

IN THE PRECEDING TWELVE-MONTH PERIOD.

THE

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED SERIES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FOR THE CPIS. DESEASONALISED CPI(A) AND CPI(B) INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 0.5% AND 0.6% RESPECTIVELY PER MONTH DURING THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 1994.

MARCH

FURTHER DETAILS ARE SHOWN IN TABLES 1-2 AND CHARTS 1-4.

MORE DETAILS ARE GIVEN IN THE "CONSUMER PRICE INDEX REPORT" FOR 1994, WHICH IS AVAILABLE AT $16.5 PER COPY FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING, GROUND FLOOR, CONNAUGHT PLACE, HONG KONG; OR FROM THE PUBLICATIONS SECTION OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT, 19TH FLOOR, WANCHAI TOWER, 12 HARBOUR ROAD, WAN CHAI, HONG KONG.

FOR LOCAL AND OVERSEAS MAILINGS, CONTACT SHOULD BE MADE WITH THE INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT, FRENCH MISSION BUILDING, 1 BATTERY PATH, HONG KONG.

FOR ENQUIRIES ABOUT THE INDICES, PLEASE TELEPHONE THE CONSUMER INDEX SECTION OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT AT

PRICE 805 6403.

DETAILS REGARDING THE HANG SENG CPI ARE CONTAINED IN THE HANG SENG CPI REPORT ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF HANG SENG BANK LTD.

/Table 1