CONSUMER PRICE INDEX MARCH / 2007 No.3

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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX

MARCH / 2007

No.3

The Composite CPI reflects the impacts of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 49% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP 3,000 to MOP 9,999, whereas the CPI-B relates to about 31% of households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP 10,000 to MOP 19,999.

The Composite CPI for March 2007 went down by 0.11% over February to 111.91. The decline was mainly attributable to the decreases in the price indices of Recreation & culture; Clothing & footwear; and Miscellaneous goods &

services. However, the impacts were largely offset by the increases in the price indices of Housing & fuels; and Food &

non-alcoholic beverages.

Compared with February 2007, the indices of Recreation & culture; Clothing & footwear; Miscellaneous goods &

services; and Transport recorded notable decreases of 5.84%, 2.26%, 0.73% and 0.50% respectively, on account of lower prices for outbound package tours, air tickets and hairdressing services after the Chinese New Year, as well as seasonal sale of women’s clothing.

On the other hand, the indices of Housing & fuels; and Food & non-alcoholic beverages increased by 0.89% and 0.61% respectively, as a result of higher rentals for housing, dearer prices of fresh vegetables and rising charges for meals bought away from home.

The Composite CPI for March 2007 registered a year-on-year increase of 4.96%. For the 12 months ended March 2007, the average Composite CPI rose by 4.92% over the previous period. For the first quarter of 2007, the Composite CPI rose by 1.25% over the preceding quarter, and 4.57% over the same quarter of 2006, with notable increases in the indices of Housing & fuels (+7.89%), Education (+6.07%) and Food & non-alcoholic beverages (+5.51%).

In addition, the CPI-A for March 2007 was 113.37, up by 0.23% over February, whereas the CPI-B was 111.54, down by 0.12%.

TABLE 1 - CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR MARCH 2007

7/2004 - 6/2005 = 100 Unit Composite CPI CPI-A CPI-B Index of the current month 111.91 113.37 111.54

Annual rate of change ended March 2007 % 4.92 5.48 4.75 Month-to-month rate of change % -0.11 0.23 -0.12 Year-on-year rate of change % 4.96 5.44 4.82 Index of the 1

^st

quarter 111.46 112.69 111.12 Quarter-to-quarter rate of change % 1.25 1.24 1.23 Year-on-year rate of change % 4.57 4.94 4.47 CHART 1 - MONTHLY RATE OF CHANGE OF THE COMPOSITE CPI BY SECTION %

Overall index -0.11%

Recreation and culture -5.84 Clothing and footwear -2.26 Miscellaneous goods and services -0.73

Transport -0.50 Housing and fuels 0.89

Food and non-alcoholic beverages 0.61 Household goods and furnishings 0.57

Health 0.14

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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX MARCH / 2007 DSEC No.3

TABLE 2 - TIME SERIES OF THE COMPOSITE CPI

7/2004 - 6/2005 = 100

Year/

Month

Overall index

Food and non- alcoholic beverages

Alcoholic beverages

and tobacco

Clothing and footwear

Housing and fuels

Household goods and furnishings

Health Transport Communi- cation

Recreation and culture

Education

Miscel- laneous

goods and services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Weight 100.00 29.05 1.04 4.70 21.81 2.95 3.07 7.05 4.74 5.97 11.12 8.51

2006

3 106.63 105.50 104.75 96.87 118.53 102.18 101.47 103.60 94.45 101.01 107.61 100.94 4 107.55 106.44 104.72 98.71 120.18 102.20 101.51 105.45 94.10 102.49 107.62 100.93 5 108.16 106.92 104.74 100.58 121.04 102.25 101.73 105.96 97.66 101.35 107.62 101.47 6 108.62 108.68 104.74 100.89 120.89 102.33 101.90 107.01 94.62 101.88 107.62 101.47 7 108.67 107.97 104.80 96.43 122.24 102.43 101.96 107.99 94.33 103.28 107.62 101.78 8 108.75 108.17 104.81 94.44 122.73 102.29 102.07 108.04 94.30 103.40 107.62 101.72 9 109.32 107.57 104.77 93.22 123.39 102.44 101.82 105.90 94.53 102.07 114.13 103.65 10 109.70 107.86 104.73 95.93 123.80 102.53 101.96 105.40 97.14 101.88 114.13 103.64 11 109.94 107.81 104.83 98.28 124.46 102.54 102.10 105.41 97.11 101.63 114.13 103.71 12 110.61 108.45 105.02 99.83 125.60 102.60 102.75 106.20 97.09 102.77 114.14 103.93

2007

1 110.44 109.50 104.99 99.10 124.78 103.14 102.97 105.43 93.48 101.65 114.14 104.04 2 112.03 111.73 105.02 97.05 126.77 103.29 103.20 106.18 93.49 108.50 114.14 105.50 3 111.91 112.41 105.02 94.85 127.90 103.88 103.35 105.65 93.49 102.17 114.15 104.73

TABLE 3 – CHANGES OF THE COMPOSITE CPI, CPI-A AND CPI-B AT SECTION LEVEL

%

Rates of change

Jan.-Mar. 2007/

Jan.-Mar. 2006 Mar. 2007/ Mar. 2006 Mar. 2007/ Feb. 2007

Contribution to monthly rate of change in

overall index Goods and services

Com- posite

CPI

CPI-A CPI-B Com- posite CPI

CPI-A CPI-B Com- posite

CPI

CPI-A CPI-B

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Overall index 4.57 4.94 4.47 4.96 5.44 4.82 -0.11 0.23 -0.12 100.00 100.00 100.00 Food and non-alcoholic beverages 5.51 5.59 5.49 6.55 6.76 6.44 0.61 0.61 0.57 -167.47 85.71 -141.73 Alcoholic beverages and tobacco 0.32 0.35 0.32 0.26 0.28 0.27 o -0.01 o 0.02 -0.07 0.02 Clothing and footwear -1.19 -1.56 -0.57 -2.08 -2.26 -1.27 -2.26 -2.11 -2.03 87.21 -22.77 72.83 Housing and fuels 7.89 7.10 7.71 7.91 7.03 7.71 0.89 0.88 0.88 -208.53 109.27 -167.63 Household goods and furnishings 1.57 2.09 1.79 1.66 1.99 1.82 0.57 0.11 0.47 -14.76 0.60 -9.48 Health 1.84 2.03 2.09 1.85 2.04 2.15 0.14 0.16 0.17 -3.83 1.78 -3.66 Transport 2.07 1.92 2.11 1.98 1.67 1.82 -0.50 -0.56 -0.46 31.67 -10.95 23.92 Communication -3.96 -4.07 -4.36 -1.02 -0.73 -1.77 o o o 0.09 -0.04 0.06 Recreation and culture 1.92 1.71 1.52 1.14 1.52 0.74 -5.84 -2.50 -5.89 320.49 -45.08 271.79 Education 6.07 7.00 5.81 6.07 7.01 5.81 o 0.01 o -0.35 0.35 -0.16 Miscellaneous goods and services 3.55 3.98 3.76 3.76 4.23 4.00 -0.73 -0.84 -0.76 55.44 -18.80 54.04

o

Result is less than half of the unit employed - Absolute value equals zero

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Year/

Month

Overall index

Alcoholic beverages

and tobacco

Housing and fuels

Education

Miscel- laneous goods

and services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Weight 100.00 32.83 1.34 2.93 26.07 1.33 2.76 4.82 5.12 4.41 12.88 5.50

2006

3 107.52 105.31 105.05 96.16 117.93 102.11 101.63 103.34 94.00 102.68 108.12 101.05 4 108.44 106.28 105.01 98.51 119.59 102.16 101.65 105.05 93.79 103.22 108.13 101.09 5 109.10 106.77 105.04 100.05 120.39 102.34 101.90 105.59 97.68 102.83 108.13 101.48 6 109.66 109.12 105.04 100.05 120.05 102.46 102.11 106.49 94.24 102.90 108.13 101.50 7 109.67 108.12 105.06 95.76 121.50 102.67 102.18 107.38 94.07 103.36 108.13 101.98 8 109.81 108.42 105.07 94.20 121.84 102.48 102.31 107.40 94.04 103.36 108.13 101.96 9 110.67 107.59 105.06 92.68 122.37 102.90 102.02 105.47 94.17 104.07 115.68 104.22 10 111.02 107.84 105.04 95.48 122.58 103.02 102.23 104.93 97.25 103.92 115.68 104.26 11 111.18 107.62 105.13 97.50 123.22 102.85 102.37 104.96 97.23 103.79 115.68 104.35 12 111.75 108.15 105.33 99.07 124.30 102.89 103.06 105.55 97.22 104.11 115.69 104.53

2007

1 111.60 109.21 105.30 98.02 123.36 103.83 103.30 104.95 93.31 103.61 115.69 104.57 2 113.11 111.75 105.36 96.02 125.13 104.03 103.53 105.67 93.32 106.91 115.69 106.22 3 113.37 112.43 105.34 93.99 126.23 104.15 103.70 105.07 93.32 104.24 115.70 105.33

TABLE 5 - TIME SERIES OF CPI-B

7/2004 - 6/2005 = 100

Year/

Month

Overall index

Alcoholic beverages

and tobacco

Housing and fuels

Education

Miscel- laneous goods

and services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Weight 100.00 30.24 1.01 5.03 20.49 2.68 2.85 6.58 4.92 5.82 11.20 9.18

2006

3 106.41 105.63 104.83 96.60 118.39 102.17 101.59 104.65 94.63 101.24 106.71 101.00 4 107.32 106.57 104.80 98.24 120.08 102.20 101.64 106.76 94.28 102.59 106.72 101.00 5 107.91 107.04 104.83 99.98 120.87 102.26 101.83 107.46 97.46 101.46 106.72 101.61 6 108.32 108.50 104.82 100.29 120.73 102.38 102.02 108.55 94.75 101.89 106.72 101.59 7 108.36 107.93 104.88 95.93 122.12 102.50 102.09 109.55 94.46 103.15 106.72 101.87 8 108.42 108.07 104.89 94.12 122.60 102.36 102.23 109.60 94.42 103.33 106.72 101.81 9 109.00 107.56 104.85 93.08 123.24 102.57 102.04 107.20 94.64 101.99 112.91 103.86 10 109.37 107.88 104.82 95.84 123.58 102.67 102.22 106.59 96.85 101.76 112.91 103.85 11 109.63 107.89 104.92 98.45 124.22 102.71 102.40 106.63 96.82 101.49 112.91 103.93 12 110.30 108.60 105.11 99.97 125.36 102.77 103.09 107.24 96.80 102.62 112.91 104.14

2007

1 110.14 109.69 105.08 99.30 124.43 103.43 103.32 106.45 92.94 101.51 112.91 104.25 2 111.68 111.80 105.12 97.36 126.39 103.55 103.60 107.06 92.96 108.37 112.91 105.85 3 111.54 112.44 105.11 95.38 127.51 104.03 103.78 106.56 92.96 101.99 112.91 105.05

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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX MARCH / 2007 DSEC No.3

TABLE 6 - AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF SELECTED FOOD ITEMS

MOP

Average retail prices

2006 2007 Items Unit

March October November December January February March

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Rice

Rice – Thailand (pre-packaged,

ordinary) kg 6.01 6.27 6.40 6.42 6.42 6.42 6.42

Fresh beef

Beef kg 40.14 40.61 40.24 40.85 40.90 40.61 40.61

Shin beef kg 40.14 40.50 41.18 41.09 41.37 40.93 40.85 Fresh pork

Lean meat kg 34.76 33.74 34.14 34.30 34.14 33.92 34.12 Pork chop kg 36.13 33.83 33.29 33.65 34.05 33.92 33.88 Live poultry

Chicken kg 26.45 26.45 26.45 26.74 26.78 26.98 26.56 Fresh salt-water fish

Golden thread kg 33.81 32.43 34.74 36.16 38.05 40.08 34.27 Pomfret kg 82.58 66.73 61.68 71.28 62.39 72.91 90.70 Sole kg 54.99 72.42 65.58 55.81 62.34 76.37 64.72 Fresh fresh-water fish

Grass carp kg 20.23 20.69 20.47 19.87 19.99 20.82 19.85 Head of “Tai U” kg 36.98 37.78 37.73 36.94 36.80 39.06 38.00 Fresh-water perch kg 52.44 45.98 45.21 55.01 55.53 53.70 51.95 Egg

Hen egg each 0.71 0.76 0.74 0.70 0.85 0.95 0.96

Fruit

Orange each 3.10 3.25 2.93 2.93 3.08 3.30 3.27

Banana kg 6.58 6.67 6.67 6.67 6.67 7.05 6.70

Apple each 2.56 3.46 3.14 2.85 2.82 3.20 3.02

Vegetable

Chinese cabbage kg 7.53 8.13 7.76 7.22 6.89 8.51 11.15 Choy sum kg 9.42 11.14 10.31 9.66 9.53 11.48 14.51 Chinese lettuce kg 5.81 8.10 7.29 7.27 6.33 6.63 7.22 Hairy gourd kg 7.35 7.54 7.27 8.20 7.88 8.69 8.15

Tomato kg 7.60 8.75 8.55 8.30 7.99 7.53 7.18

Carrot kg 6.89 8.55 8.22 8.48 8.81 8.92 8.24

a. No imports were recorded during the period

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-1.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00

March 2006 May July September November January 2007 March

% Month-to-month rate of change Year-on-year rate of change

CHART 3 - MOVEMENTS OF CPI-A

-1.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00

%

Month-to-month rate of change Year-on-year rate of change

CHART 4 - MOVEMENTS OF CPI-B

-1.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00

% Month-to-month rate of change Year-on-year rate of change

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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX MARCH / 2007 DSEC No.3

TABLE 7 – QUARTER-TO-QUARTER RATE OF CHANGE OF THE COMPOSITE CPI

7/2004 - 6/2005 = 100

Year/

Quarter

Overall index

Alcoholic beverages

and tobacco

Housing and fuels

Education

Miscel- laneous

goods and services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Weight 100.00 29.05 1.04 4.70 21.81 2.95 3.07 7.05 4.74 5.97 11.12 8.51

2006

1 106.59 105.41 104.68 98.17 117.23 101.84 101.31 103.61 97.34 102.14 107.61 101.17 2 108.11 107.35 104.73 100.06 120.70 102.26 101.71 106.14 95.46 101.90 107.62 101.29 3 108.91 107.90 104.79 94.70 122.79 102.38 101.95 107.31 94.39 102.91 109.79 102.39 4 110.09 108.04 104.86 98.01 124.62 102.56 102.27 105.67 97.11 102.09 114.14 103.76

2007

1 111.46 111.21 105.01 97.00 126.48 103.43 103.17 105.75 93.48 104.11 114.14 104.75 Rate of

change (%) Quarter-to-

quarter

1.25 2.94 0.14 -1.03 1.50 0.85 0.88 0.08 -3.73 1.97 0.01 0.96 Year-on-

year 4.57 5.51 0.32 -1.19 7.89 1.57 1.84 2.07 -3.96 1.92 6.07 3.55

o Result is less than half of the unit employed

The following statistical tables can be downloaded from our website

1G - Time series of the Composite CPI at section level 1A - Time series of CPI-A at section level

1B - Time series of CPI-B at section level

2G - Month-to-month rate of change of the Composite CPI at section level 2A - Month-to-month rate of change of CPI-A at section level

2B - Month-to-month rate of change of CPI-B at section level

3G - Year-on-year rate of change of the Composite CPI at section level 3A - Year-on-year rate of change of CPI-A at section level

3B - Year-on-year rate of change of CPI-B at section level

4G - Annual rate of change of the average Composite CPI at section level 4A - Annual rate of change of the average CPI-A at section level

4B - Annual rate of change of the average CPI-B at section level 5G - Movements of the Composite CPI at section level

5A - Movements of CPI-A at section level 5B - Movements of CPI-B at section level

6G - Index and rate of change of the Composite CPI at section, class, group and principal subgroup levels

6A - Index and rate of change of CPI-A at section, class, group and principal subgroup levels 6B - Index and rate of change of CPI-B at section, class, group and principal subgroup levels 7 - Average retail prices of selected food items

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX MARCH / 2007 No.3