Overall consumer prices in Hong Kong rose 3.6 percent in June compared to the same month a year earlier. This was slightly smaller than the corresponding increase (3.7 percent) in May 2014, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) reported.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly rate of increase in the Composite CPI for the 3-month period from April to June 2014 was 0.2 percent, the same as that for the 3-month period from March to May 2014.
Year-on-year increases in prices were recorded in June 2014 for alcoholic drinks and tobacco (7.8 percent), which was mainly due to the increase of tobacco duty); housing (4.8 percent); meals bought away from home (4.7 percent); food (excluding meals bought away from home) (3.4 percent); miscellaneous services (3 percent); electricity, gas and water (2.4 percent); transport (2.4 percent); clothing and footwear (2 percent) and miscellaneous goods (1.9 percent).
Meanwhile, year-on-year decrease in prices was recorded in June 2014 for durable goods (-2.7 percent).
For the first half of 2014 as a whole, the Composite CPI rose by 3.9 percent over a year earlier. For the 12 months ended June 2014, the Composite CPI was on average 4.3 percent higher than in the preceding 12-month period.