People walk through the markets in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong on August 9, 2021. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong's consumer price index (CPI) registered a year-on-year increase of 1.0 percent in July mainly due to increases in the costs for meals out and takeaway food as well as the increases in local transport fares, according to the Census and Statistics Department.
In a statement, a government spokesman said that the underlying CPI rose to 1.0 percent in July, mainly reflecting a low base of comparison a year earlier caused by the third wave of local epidemic and the extra MTR fare discount.
Pressures on major CPI components remained modest, the spokesman said.
Looking ahead, while the continued economic recovery and rising import prices may entail some upward pressures on prices, the underlying inflation should remain largely contained in the near term as the local economy is still operating below capacity. The government will continue to monitor the situation closely, he added.
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