Hong Kong Inflation Climbs To 9-month High

(RTTNews) - Hong Kong's consumer price inflation increased in February to the highest level in nine months, data released by the Census and Statistics Department showed on Friday.

The consumer price index, or CPI, climbed 1.7 percent year-over-year in February, faster than January's rise of 1.1 percent. Moreover, this was the highest inflation rate since May 2025, when prices rose 1.9 percent.

Food inflation rose to 0.9 percent from 0.5 percent, and the annual price growth in transportation quickened to 4.3 percent from 1.1 percent. Inflation based on utilities also accelerated to 3.5 percent from 3.0 percent, while clothing and footwear prices continued to decline by 3.4 percent.

Netting out the effects of all governments' one-off relief measures, the underlying inflation also climbed to 1.6 percent in February from 1.0 percent in the previous month.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly rate of increase in the composite CPI for the 3-month period ending February was 0.2 percent.

"Looking ahead, as international oil prices have surged since end-February amid the heightened geopolitical tensions, the import price pressures for specific fuel-related items have increased," a government spokesman said.