Hong Kong's consumer price inflation eased slightly in March, in line with expectations, figures from the Census and Statistics Department showed Thursday.
The consumer price index rose 3.0 percent year-over-year in March, slower than February's 3.1 percent climb. The figure also matched consensus estimate.
Excluding the one-off relief measures of the government, core inflation also moderated to 2.9 percent in March from 3.1 percent in the previous month. This was largely due to the smaller increases in the prices of fresh vegetables.
Food prices, excluding meals bought away from home, grew 5.6 percent annually in March and housing costs climbed by 3.8 percent.
"Looking ahead, the upside risks to inflation should remain limited in the near term, as external price pressures stay tame amid low global inflation, while local cost increases will likely be restrained by the subpar economic conditions and retreat in rental cost pressures," a government spokesman said.
"The Government will continue to monitor the inflation developments closely, particularly its impact on the lower-income people."
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