Macau, China, Jan. 23, 2026 (Lusa) - Macau ended 2025 with an annual inflation rate of 0.33%, the lowest figure in the last four years, it was announced on Friday.
The rise in the consumer price index (CPI) last year was the lowest since 2021, according to official data released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).
In June 2021, Macao experienced the last of 10 consecutive months of falling prices - or deflation - at the peak of the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deflation reflects weakness in domestic consumption and investment and is particularly serious, as a fall in the price of assets, which are usually contracted using credit, creates an imbalance between the value of loans and bank guarantees.
Official data show that in 2025, inflation was felt mainly in food and non-alcoholic beverages (up 0.62%). The cost of meals purchased outside the home rose 1.54%.
Rent or mortgage expenses for flats rose 0.84% and 0.49%, respectively. On 11 November, the Macao Monetary Authority approved the third interest rate cut this year.
In April 2024, the territory's Legislative Assembly abolished several taxes on home purchases to "increase liquidity" in the property market, according to Lei Wai Nong, Secretary for Economy and Finance at the time.
With the recovery in visitor numbers, the semi-autonomous Chinese region saw a 25.4% rise in the price of jewellery, goldsmithing and watches, products popular with tourists from mainland China.
In contrast, spending on electricity and telecommunications fell by 3.16% and 3.46% respectively, while the price of air tickets fell by 6.36%.
Inflation fell in December to 0.69%, down 0.03 percentage points from November, interrupting four consecutive months of acceleration.
In mainland China, by far Macao's largest trading partner, the CPI rose 0.8% year-on-year in December, the highest increase since 2023, an encouraging sign despite persistent deflationary pressures in the world's second-largest economy.
This was the third consecutive increase and was in line with forecasts by a group of economists surveyed by the financial news agency Bloomberg.
The world's second-largest economy has been facing deflationary pressures for more than two years, with weak domestic demand and excess industrial capacity weighing on prices, while uncertainty in international trade makes it difficult for suppliers to sell their products.
The producer price index, which measures factory-gate prices, deepened the negative trend of the last two years in December, with a year-on-year decline of 1.9%.
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