Hong Kong's overall consumer prices rose by 5.8 percent in October 2011 over the same month a year earlier, same as that in September 2011, according to figures released by the city's Census and Statistics Department Tuesday.

    The figure showed that netting out the effects of all government's one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of increase in the Composite CPI in October 2011 was 6.4 percent, also same as that in September.

    Amongst the various CPI components, year-on-year increases in prices were recorded in October 2011 for alcoholic drinks and tobacco, food, clothing and footwear, housing, transport miscellaneous services and miscellaneous goods.

    On the other hand, year-on-year decrease in prices were recorded in October 2011 for electricity, gas and water, largely as a result of the Government's electricity charge subsidy and durable goods.

    Taking the first ten months of 2011 together, the Composite CPI rose by 5.2 percent over a year earlier. For the 12 months ended October 2011, the Composite CPI was on average 4.8 percent higher than in the preceding 12-month period.

    A Government spokesman said that the underlying inflation rate held stable in October after its uninterrupted rise over the past year or so, notwithstanding the enlarged increase in private housing rentals and the still-elevated food inflation.

    The spokesman also commented that inflation is likely to peak out during the fourth quarter of 2011, as price pressures on both the external and domestic fronts are set to ease alongside the retreat of global food and commodity prices in recent months and a slowing local economy. Even so, with the lagged effects from the earlier surge in market rentals still feeding through, inflation may remain rather notable in the near term.

(Source:Xinhua)