XN000022-1994-09-22 — Page 4

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1994

THE COMPOSITE CPI, WHICH IS COMPILED BASED ON THE COMBINED EXPENDITURE PATTERN OF HOUSEHOLDS COVERED BY THE THREE CPI'S, SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 9.8% IN AUGUST 1994 OVER THE SAME MONTH IN 1993. THIS WAS ALSO HIGHER THAN THE CORRESPONDING INCREASE OF 8.9% IN JULY.

COMPARING AUGUST 1994 WITH AUGUST 1993, RELATIVELY SLOWER PRICE INCREASES THAN THE OVERALL AVERAGE WERE RECORDED FOR FUEL AND LIGHT (2.7% IN BOTH THE CPI(A) AND CPI(B)); DURABLE GOODS (3.1% IN BOTH THE CPI(A) AND CPI(B)); ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO (5.0% IN THE CPI (A) AND 5.5% IN THE CPI(B)); MISCELLANEOUS GOODS (5.3% AND 4.6%); MEALS BOUGHT AWAY FROM HOME (7.4% AND 7.2%); AND TRANSPORT (9.4% AND 9.3%).

ON THE OTHER HAND, RELATIVELY FASTER PRICE INCREASES THAN THE OVERALL AVERAGE WERE RECORDED FOR FOOD (EXCLUDING MEALS BOUGHT AWAY FROM HOME) (13.9% IN THE CPI(A) AND 12.0% IN THE CPI(B)); MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES (11.7% AND 10.5%); HOUSING (11.5% AND 12.0%); AND CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR (10.8% AND 11.6%).

COMPARING AUGUST 1994 WITH JULY 1994, THE CPI(A) AND CPI (B) INCREASED BY 1.6% AND 1.2% RESPECTIVELY. HOWEVER, THIS COMPARISON COULD HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY SEASONAL FACTORS.

FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDED AUGUST 1994, THE CPI (A) AND CPI (B) WERE,

ON AVERAGE, HIGHER BY 8.1% AND 8.3% RESPECTIVELY THAN IN THE PRECEDING 12-MONTH PERIOD.

THE

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED SERIES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE POR THE CPI'S. DESEASONALISED CPI(A) AND CPI(B) INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 1.0% AND 0.8% RESPECTIVELY A MONTH DURING THE THREE MONTHS ENDED AUGUST 1994.

MORE DETAILS ARE GIVEN IN THE "CONSUMER PRICE INDEX REPORT" FOR AUGUST 1994, WHICH IS AVAILABLE AT $16.5 A 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, VANCHAI 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 PRICE INDEX SECTION OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT ON TEL 805 6403. DETAILS OF THE HANG SENG CPI ARE CONTAINED IN THE HANG SENG CPI REPORT ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF HANG SENG BANK LTD.

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