Hong Kong July Headline CPI Up 2.0% on Year, as Expected

Hong Kong's composite consumer-price index rose 2.0% in July from a year earlier partly due to higher prices of clothing, the Census and Statistics Department said Tuesday.

July's CPI rise was slightly higher than June's 1.9% rise, and in line with the median 2.0% rise forecast by five economists surveyed earlier by Dow Jones Newswires.

Looking ahead, the upside risks to inflation should remain contained in the near term, given the low imported inflation and moderate local cost pressures, a government spokesman said in the statement.

The Hong Kong government said in its most recent forecast earlier this month it expects headline CPI to rise by 1.6% this year, easing from the 2.4% increase in 2016.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 22, 2017 04:57 ET (08:57 GMT)