FX.co ★ Hong Kong Inflation Increases In February

Hong Kong's consumer price inflation rose in February, after easing in the previous month, data released by the Census and Statistics Department showed on Monday.

Consumer prices increased 1.6 percent year-on-year in February, following a 1.2 percent growth in January.

Netting out the effects of all government's one-off relief measures, the underlying inflation also rose to 1.6 percent in February from 1.2 percent in the previous month.

Core inflation rose mainly due to the increases in the prices of fresh vegetables, supply of which from the mainland was temporarily affected by the epidemic-induced transport disruptions in the month.

The Lunar New Year fell in early February this year but in mid-February last year.

Combining the first two months of 2022 to neutralize the effect of the Lunar New Year, the Composite CPI rose by 1.4 percent over a year earlier. The underlying inflation was 1.5 percent.

"Looking ahead, the upward price pressures on the external front will remain amid elevated inflation in major advanced economies as well as surging international energy and commodity prices," a government spokesman said.