2021.01.2109:33:00UTC+00Hong Kong Consumer Prices Continue To Decline

Hong Kong's consumer prices continued to decline in December, data from the Census and Statistics Department showed on Thursday.

The composite consumer price index fell 0.70 percent year-on-year in December, following a 0.20 percent fall in November.

Excluding the effects of all government one-off relief measures, the composite consumer price index remained unchanged in December, after a 0.3 percent rise in the previous month.

"Prices of meals bought away from home softened visibly in the month amid the fourth wave of local epidemic and the resultant social distancing measures," a government spokesman said.

Private housing rentals declined slightly, and price pressures on many other major CPI components receded further, the spokesman added.

In 2020, the underlying consumer price inflation averaged 1.3 percent.