Slight incline: Consumer prices rose 1% in January over the same month last year.

Consumer prices rose 1% in January over the same month last year, down on the 1.3% increase in December, the Census & Statistics Department says.

Netting out the effects of the Government's one-off relief measures, the underlying inflation rate was virtually nil, compared to the 0.3% year-on-year rate of change in December mainly due to higher prices in January last year around the Lunar New Year holiday which led to a higher base of comparison.

The department said inflationary pressures remained modest on entering 2010. Yet with the economic recovery gathering pace, inflationary pressures are likely to become slightly more visible going forward. Nevertheless, as resources in the economy are still under-utilised in the early stage of recovery, upward pressures on prices and costs should remain contained in the near term, it added.

Year-on-year price hikes were recorded in electricity, gas and water (56.8%), alcohol and tobacco (22.9%), clothing and footwear (2.9%), miscellaneous goods (1.9%), meals bought away from home (0.3%) and transport (0.3%).

Drops were found in durable goods (-2%), miscellaneous services (-1.9%) and food (excluding meals bought away from home) (-1.6%).

For the three months ending January the composite consumer price index rose 0.9% over a year earlier. The corresponding rate of change after netting out the effects of the Government's relief measures was virtually nil.

As for the 12 months ending January, the composite consumer price index was on average 0.4% higher than in the preceding 12-month period. The corresponding increase after netting out the effects of the Government's one-off relief measures was 0.6%.