Hong Kong's inflation in February rose to 1.7%

The Census and Statistics Department announced that the overall consumer price index (CPI) in February increased by 1.7 year-on-year, higher than the 1.1 increase in January. Excluding the impact of one-off government relief measures, the core inflation rate was 1.6%, also higher than January’s 1%.

The government stated that the widening annual increase was mainly due to higher travel and transportation costs during the Lunar New Year period, coupled with the fact that last year’s Lunar New Year fell in January, resulting in a relatively low comparison base in February last year.

Among various components of the composite consumer price index, categories recording year-on-year increases in February included miscellaneous services up 4.9%, transportation up 4.3%, electricity, gas, and water up 3.5%, miscellaneous goods up 1.8%, tobacco and alcohol up 1.8%, housing up 1.1%, dining out and takeaways up 1.1%, and basic food up 0.6%.

On the other hand, categories with year-on-year declines included clothing and footwear, down 3.4%, and durable goods, down 2.6%.

For the first two months of this year combined, the year-on-year increases in the Consumer Price Index for Class A, Class B, and Class C were all 1.4%. Excluding the impact of all government one-off relief measures, the respective increases were 1.1%, 1.3%, and 1.4%.

A government spokesperson said that looking ahead, as international oil prices have surged since late February due to geopolitical tensions, import prices for some fuel-related items have increased. The government is closely monitoring external developments and will take appropriate measures to maintain price stability.