Hong Kong April Headline CPI Up 2.0%, Beating Expectations

Hong Kong's composite consumer-price index rose at a faster-than-expected clip in April from a year earlier, partly due to higher prices for package tours, the Census and Statistics Department said Tuesday.

The headline CPI rose 2.0% last month, accelerating from March's 0.5% rise. The April figure was above the median 1.5% rise forecast by five economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Commenting on the outlook, a government spokesman said upside risks to inflation should remain contained in the near term amid low imported inflation and moderate domestic-cost pressures.

The Hong Kong government said in its most recent forecast earlier this month that it expects headline CPI to rise by 1.8% this year, moderating from the 2.4% increase in 2016.

Write to Chester Yung at chester.yung@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 23, 2017 05:03 ET (09:03 GMT)