A vendor prepares her fresh vegetables in a wet market in Tai Po on Feb 9, 2022. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's consumer prices rose by 1.6 percent in February year-on-year, official data showed on Monday.

The figure is larger than the corresponding increase of 1.2 percent in January, according to the Census and Statistics Department of the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Netting out the effects of all government's one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of increase in the Composite Consumer Price Index (underlying inflation rate) in February was 1.6 percent, up from January's 1.2 percent, mainly due to the increases in the prices of fresh vegetables

Netting out the effects of all government's one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of increase in the Composite Consumer Price Index (underlying inflation rate) in February was 1.6 percent, up from January's 1.2 percent, mainly due to the increases in the prices of fresh vegetables.

Consumer prices tend to show greater volatility in the first two months of a year due to the timing of the Lunar New Year. As the Chinese New Year fell in early February this year but in mid-February last year, the year-on-year comparison of the figures for January and February 2022 might have been affected by this factor to a certain extent.

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Taking the first two months of 2022 together to neutralize the effect of the Lunar New Year, the Composite Consumer Price Index rose by 1.4 percent over a year earlier. Netting out the effect of all government's one-off relief measures, the corresponding increase was 1.5 percent.

A government spokesman said that basic food prices showed an accelerated increase as the supply of fresh vegetables from the Chinese mainland was temporarily affected by pandemic-induced transport disruptions in the month. 

The year-on-year increases in prices of energy-related items and certain CPI components such as transport, and clothing and footwear remained visible. Nonetheless, price pressures on other major components were broadly in check, he said.

The resumption of stable food supply from the mainland should help contain the upward pressures on basic food prices. Overall, the underlying inflation should stay moderate in the near term, he added.

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