Hong Kong Inflation Hits 4-Year Low

Hong Kong’s annual inflation rate stood at 1.7% in August 2026, unchanged from the previous month. Price growth remained steady for housing, at 0.1%, while inflation accelerated slightly for food (0.6% vs 0.5%) and electricity, gas and water (11.5% vs 10.8%). Price growth for durable goods also rebounded, rising 0.8% following a 0.2% decline. Meanwhile, inflation softened further for transport, slowing to 3.9% from 5%, while prices for clothing and footwear and alcoholic drinks and tobacco remained unchanged from a year earlier. The underlying Composite CPI, which excludes the effects of all one-off government relief measures, was unchanged at 1.9%, as price pressures remained largely under control despite inflation related to fuel remaining high. On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.1%, slowing from a 0.2% increase in July. Looking ahead, authorities expect the continued feed-through of higher global oil prices on fuel-related components to pose upward pressure on inflation.

Hong Kong’s annual inflation rate eased to 1.7% in July 2026, down from 2% in each of the previous two months. Inflation softened for housing, which eased sharply to 0.1% from 1.1%, and transport, which slowed to 5% from 5.3%. Additional downward pressure came from durable goods, whose prices fell 0.2% after dropping 1.1%, while inflation for clothing and footwear eased to 0.6% from 0.7%. In contrast, inflation rose for utilities (10.8% vs 9.2% in June) and overall food (0.5% vs 0.3%). The underlying composite CPI was unchanged at 1.9%, as inflation for fuel-related items stayed high while price pressures on other components were generally contained. On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.2%, following two consecutive months of flat readings. Looking ahead, authorities expect the continued feed-through of higher global oil prices on fuel-related components to pose upward pressure on inflation.

The annual inflation rate in Hong Kong stood at 2.0% in June 2026, unchanged from the prior month and remaining the highest level since April last year. Price growth accelerated for electricity, gas and water (9.2% vs. 6.6% in May), transport (5.3% vs. 5.1%), and miscellaneous services (5.2% vs. 5.1%). In contrast, inflation eased for food (0.3% vs. 0.7%), alcoholic drinks and tobacco (0.1% vs. 2.5%), clothing and footwear (0.7% vs. 1.0%), and miscellaneous goods (2.3% vs. 2.9%). Meanwhile, housing inflation was unchanged at 1.1%, while prices of durable goods continued to decline, though at a slightly slower pace (-1.1% vs. -1.2%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices were unchanged for a second consecutive month in June 2026. Authorities noted that while price increases for fuel-related items continued to accelerate, price pressures on other major components were relatively mild, offsetting some of the increases.