HK CPI rises 1.3% in January versus 1.2% in December

    Hong Kong's overall consumer prices rose 1.3% in January over the same month a year earlier, slightly larger than the corresponding increase of 1.2% in December 2016, according to the Census and Statistics Department.
  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 January was 2.1%, also slightly larger than that in December's 2% rise, mainly due to the larger increases in the charges for package tours around Lunar New Year.
  A Government spokesman said that inflation pressure stayed moderate in January. The visible year-on-year increase in the charges for package tours was due mainly to the difference in timing of the Lunar New Year, which fell in late January this year but in early February last year. This largely offset the favourable effects from the downward adjustment in the electricity charge and the smaller year-on-year increase in food prices. The spokesman commented further that, looking ahead, inflation pressure should stay contained in the near term, given soft import prices and moderate local cost increases.