Hong Kong's overall consumer prices rose 3.1 percent in January, announced the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong here Monday.

According to the Composite CPI figures for January released by the department, overall consumer prices rose 3.1 percent in January over the same month a year earlier.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly rate of change in the Composite CPI for the 3-month period from November 2008 to January 2009 was 0.5 percent.

The 3.1 percent year-on-year increase in January was larger than the corresponding 2.1 percent increase in December.

Netting out the effects of all government's one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of increase in the Composite CPI in January, i.e. the underlying inflation rate, was 4.5 percent, slightly smaller than the 4.6 percent recorded in December.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2009)