Hong Kong CPI Rises 1.2%

Hong Kong’s composite consumer price index in November rose 1.2% from a year earlier as rises in food and tobacco prices outweighed falls in clothing and durable-goods prices, the Census and Statistics Department said Tuesday, Dow Jones reported. November’s CPI increase matched October’s gain. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had also forecast consumer inflation at 1.2% in November. “Looking ahead, inflation risks should remain contained in the near term, given the still-low global inflation and moderate rises in local costs,” a government spokesman said in a statement. The government will closely monitor any inflation impact on lower-income groups, the spokesman added.