HK CPI rises 2% in April versus 0.5% in March

    Hong Kong's overall consumer prices rose by 2% in April over the same month a year earlier, larger than the corresponding increase of 0.5% in March, according to the Census and Statistics Department.
  The larger year-on-year rate of change in the Composite CPI in April was mainly attributable to the low base of comparison resulted from the rates concession implemented as from April 2016, while there was no rates concession in March 2016. 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 April 2017 was also 2%, larger than March's 1.3% rise, mainly due to the increases in the charges for package tours. Also relevant was the smaller decreases in the prices of fresh vegetables.
   A Government spokesman said that inflation pressure remained modest in April. The uptick in the underlying inflation rate in April was mainly due to the difference in timing of the Easter holidays, which fell in mid-April this year but in late March last year, resulting in a visible year-on-year rebound in the charges for package tours in that month. The spokesman commented further that, looking ahead, the upside risks to inflation should remain contained in the near term, considering the low imported inflation as well as moderate local cost pressures.