HONG KONG, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's overall consumer prices rose by 2.6 percent year on year in March, the Census and Statistics Department said on Monday.

The figure is larger than the 2.4 percent average rate of increase in January and February.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said inflationary pressures generally held moderate, though the year-on-year rate of increase in the underlying Composite Consumer Price Index went up slightly in March.

Looking ahead, external and local price pressures will rise this year if economic growth continues, the spokesman said.

Netting out the effects of the government's one-off relief measures, the underlying inflation rate was also 2.6 percent, compared to the 2.3 percent average rate of increase in January and February.

Year-on-year increases in prices were recorded in March for food, electricity, gas and water, meals bought away from home, miscellaneous services, housing, transport, alcohol and tobacco, clothing and footwear, and miscellaneous goods.

A year-on-year decrease in prices was recorded for durable goods. Enditem

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