Chart 13
3
The Economy
Prices and Rentals of Retail Shop Space and Office Space
(Jan 2012-100)
Retail shop space
Index
160
Feb 2013
Office space
Index
145
Feb 2013
140
150
Price index
135
Price index
130
140
125
130
120
Rental index
115
120
Rental index
110
105
110
100
100
95
Jan
Jul
Jan Jul
Jan Jul
Jan Jul
Jan
Jul Jan Jul
2012
2013 |
2014
2012
2013
2014 |
Prices and rentals of retail shop and office spaces recorded moderate gains during 2014.
As to demand-supply balance, the vacancy rate for retail shop space edged up from 7.2 per cent at end-2013 to 7.3 per cent at end-2014, while that for office space and flatted factory space declined from 7 per cent to 6.3 per cent and from 5.8 per cent to 5.6 per cent respectively. These were well below their respective long-term averages of 8.7 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 8.2 per cent over 1994-2013.
Price Movements
Inflation followed an easing trend in 2014. Underlying consumer price inflation, which nets out the effects of the government's one-off relief measures, retreated to 3.5 per cent in 2014, down successively from 5.3 per cent in 2011, 4.7 per cent in 2012 and 4 per cent in 2013. In terms of the quarterly profile, underlying inflation receded gradually over the course of 2014, from 3.8 per cent in the first quarter to 3.5 per cent in the second quarter, and slightly further to 3.3 per cent in both the third and fourth quarters.
The moderation in underlying inflation mainly reflected the milder imported inflation and receding local cost pressures during the year. Externally, import prices rose at a modest pace in 2014, thanks to softer international energy and raw material prices. Locally, the year-on-year increases in the private residential rental component narrowed further, while the rise in commercial rents was also rather moderate.
Headline consumer price inflation, which is influenced by the government's one-off relief measures, edged up to 4.4 per cent in 2014 from 4.3 per cent in 2013. Higher headline inflation compared with the underlying figure was mainly caused by the lower base effect created by the government's payment of public housing rentals in September 2013, the end of the
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