Hong Kong February inflation rate up 3.7%

Economists see inflationary pressure to further increase in the coming months as global food and commodity prices remain elevated.

Rapid increases in private housing rentals also continues.

Overall consumer prices rose 3.7% year on year in February, up on the 3.6% January figure.

According to figures released by the Census & Statistics Department on Tuesday, netting out the effects of all government one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of increase in the underlying inflation rate in February this year was 3.6%, slightly higher than the 3.5% figure recorded in January, mainly due to the enlarged increases in private housing rentals, according to a government report.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly rate of increase in the composite consumer price index for the three-month period from December last year to February this year was 0.7%, compared to 0.5% for the three-month period from November last year to January this year.

Netting out the effects of the Government's one-off relief measures, the average monthly rate of increase in the composite CPI for the three-month period was also 0.7%. 

Year-on-year increases in prices were recorded in February for food (excluding meals bought away from home) which went up 6.5%; electricity, gas and water (+5.9%); clothing and footwear (+4.6%); alcohol and tobacco (+4.5%); housing (+3.9%); meals bought away from home (+3.9%); miscellaneous goods (+3.4%); transport (+2.7%) and miscellaneous services (+2.6%).

A year-on-year decrease in prices was recorded for durable goods, going down by 3%.

The Government said when taking the first two months of this year together to remove any potential distortion due to the timing of the Lunar New Year, underlying consumer price inflation went up further to 3.6%. 

Inflationary pressure in the economy is expected to increase in the coming months, as global food and commodity prices remain elevated and the feed-through from the earlier rapid increases in private housing rentals continues.

The Government will closely monitor the implications on inflation from the global events of late. It will also remain vigilant to the impact of inflation on the low-income people.