Price rise: Overall consumer prices rose 0.5% in September over the same month last year, following a 1.6% drop in August.

Overall consumer prices rose 0.5% in September over the same month last year, following a 1.6% drop in August, the Census & Statistics Department said today.

Netting out the effects of the Government's one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of change for the month was -0.3%, the same as August. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly rate of change for the period from July to September was -0.3%.

The department said the headline consumer price inflation reverted to positive as the effects of the Government's subsidy on power charges began to fade. Netting out the effects of the one-off measures, the underlying inflation rate remained slightly negative as local cost pressures were contained and imported inflation was virtually absent. The upward pressure on consumer prices is expected to remain weak in the coming months.

Year-on-year price increases were recorded for electricity, gas and water (23.4%), alcohol and tobacco (23%), clothing and footwear (4.5%), miscellaneous goods (1.5%), housing (0.7%) and meals bought away from home (0.6%).

Declines were found in durable goods (-3%), transport (-2.3%), food - excluding meals bought away from home (-2%) and miscellaneous services (-1.4%).

Taking the first nine months of this year together the composite consumer price index rose 0.2% over a year earlier. In the third quarter the index fell 0.9%, while for the 12 months ending September the composite consumer price index was on average 0.8% higher than in the preceding 12-month period.