The pace of the decline in consumer prices narrowed further to 0.9% in May, from 1.5% in April, the Census & Statistics Department says.

The smaller year-on-year decline in the Composite Consumer Price Index was mainly attributable to moderated falls in charges for telephone and other communications services and in private housing rents, as well as enlarged increases for package tours and clothing and footwear. Also contributing was the higher electricity charge following the dissipation of the special rebate granted by a power company in March and April.

Analysed by sub-index and on a year-on-year comparison, the CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) fell by 0.7%, 0.9% and 1.1% in May, smaller than the corresponding declines of 1.5%, 1.5% and 1.6% in April.

For the three-month period ending May, the average monthly rates of change in the seasonally adjusted Composite CPI, CPI(A) and CPI(B) were virtually nil, 0.1% and virtually nil, as against -0.1%, virtually nil and -0.1% for the three-month period ending April. The seasonally adjusted CPI(C) fell 0.1% in both periods.

Amongst the various CPI components, housing continued to register the largest year-on-year price fall in May (-6.7% in the Composite CPI and -5.8% in the CPI(A)). This was followed by durable goods (-1.3% in the Composite CPI and -0.5% in the CPI(A)).

Year-on-year price increases were recorded for clothing and footwear (10.4% in the Composite CPI and 8.5% in the CPI(A)), miscellaneous goods (3.2% in the Composite CPI and 1.7% in the CPI(A)), food (excluding meals bought away from home) (2.2% in the Composite CPI and 2.3% in the CPI(A)), electricity, gas and water (1.3% in the Composite CPI and 1.2% in the CPI(A)), alcohol and tobacco (0.9% in both the Composite CPI and CPI(A)), miscellaneous services (0.6% in the Composite CPI and 0.4% in the CPI(A)), and meals bought away from home (0.3% in the Composite CPI and 0.6% in the CPI(A)).

Transport costs rose 0.2% in the Composite CPI but fell 0.4% in the CPI(A).

Taking the year's first five months together, the Composite CPI fell 1.6% from a year earlier. Concurrently, the CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) fell 1.2%, 1.7% and 2.1%.

The Government said consumer prices have stopped falling, and edged up mildly from the trough of last July and August. Various items have registered price increases in recent months.

Year-on-year, the pace of decline in the Composite CPI narrowed markedly further to 0.9% in May. This reflected the combined influence of the recent bottoming out of property rent, and upward adjustments in the prices of some of the major commodity items amid sustained pick-up in consumer spending and import prices.