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| Up a notch: Overall consumer prices in July rose 1.5% over the same month last year. |
Overall consumer prices in July rose 1.5% over the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department says. The year-on-year increase was mainly due to enlarged rises in the price of pork, private housing rentals and the costs for meals bought away from home.
Year-on-year rises were recorded for food, excluding meals bought away from home (up 5.8%), clothing and footwear (5.1%), meals bought away from home (2.2%), miscellaneous goods (2.1%), miscellaneous services (1.9%) and housing (1.2%).
Food items showing large price increases were pork (up 25%), eggs (22.7%), frozen meat (12.4%), other meat (9.5%), edible oils (9.1%) and canned meat (9%).
Year-on-year falls were recorded for durable goods (-4.3%), electricity, gas and water (-3%), alcohol and tobacco (-2.4%) and transport (-0.2%).
The department said the movement of food prices was likely to pose an upside risk to inflation in the near term. However, several measures, including the rates concession and the recent cut in public housing rentals, will continue to help to contain headline inflation in the coming months. Overall inflationary pressures will be somewhat cushioned by sustained labour productivity growth.
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