HK CPI rises 4.3% in August versus 2.3% in July

    Hong Kong's overall consumer prices rose 4.3% in August over the same month a year earlier, larger than the corresponding increase of 2.3% in July, according to the Census and Statistics Department.
  The larger year-on-year rate of change in the Composite CPI in August was mainly due to the low base of comparison resulted from the Government's payment of public housing rentals in August last year. Netting out the effects of all Government's one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of increase in the Composite CPI (i.e. the underlying inflation rate) in August 2016 2.1%, slightly larger than July's 2% rise, mainly due to the low base of comparison resulted from the special fuel rebate in electricity starting from mid-August last year.
  A Government spokesman said that underlying inflation, which netted out the effects of the Government's one-off relief measures, stayed moderate in August, at 2.1% on a year-on-year basis. This was similar to that of 2% in July. As to the headline inflation in August, the notably higher year-on-year rate was mainly due to the temporary effect of a very low base of comparison created by the Government's payment of public housing rentals in August last year, and this temporary effect would not affect the inflation trend in the rest of the year. The spokesman commented further that, looking ahead, inflation pressure should remain contained in the near term, given the soft import prices and moderate increases in local costs.