Macao Reports Sustained DeflationMacao's deflation is still going on, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropping 0.15 percent in May from the previous month to 97.92, according to the latest official statistics.The CPI is widely used as an indicator of the ups and downs of consumer demand. No upward trend of the index shows that Macao's economy has not moved out of the shadow of deflation since last year. Figures released by the Statistics and Census Services show that the price indices of housing expense, household commodities and other goods and services decreased by big margins, while those of clothing and footwear, health-care products and food and beverage climbed up. Macao's CPI fell 1.64 percent year on year in the first five months of this year, the source said. Macao's economy grew 4.6 percent in the year 2000 following continuous negative increases in the previous four years. |
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