在食品價格和租金上漲的推動下，香港上個月的通脹率升至10年來水平。
Hong Kong’s inflation rose to its highest level in ten years last month, pushed by rising food prices and rents.
2月份的消費者價格指數(shù)(CPI)較上年同期上升6.3%，高于1月份4.3%的升幅，也高于分析師普遍預(yù)期的4.9%。
February’s consumer price index increased 6.3 per cent compared to last year, up from a 4.3 per cent increase recorded in January, and above analysts’ consensus estimates of 4.9 per cent.
上月有許多一次性因素推高了通脹率，其中包括席卷中國大部分地區(qū)的惡劣嚴冬天氣限制了對香港的食品供應(yīng)。香港的食品供應(yīng)大多依賴于內(nèi)地。但經(jīng)濟學(xué)家們表示，香港通脹率的潛在趨勢顯然是向上。
A number of one-off factors drove inflation higher last month, such as the severe winter weather across most of China that restricted food supply to Hong Kong, which relies on the mainland for much of its nourishment. But economists said the underlying trend for Hong Kong’s inflation is clearly upwards.
香港可以用來解決通脹問題的貨幣政策工具很有限，因為香港實行的是聯(lián)系匯率制，其利率決策唯美聯(lián)儲(Fed)馬首是瞻。
Hong Kong is constrained in the monetary tools it has available to tackle inflation since the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the US currency leaves it subject to the interest rate whims of the Federal Reserve.
香港科技大學(xué)(Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology)經(jīng)濟學(xué)教授雷鼎銘(Francis Lui)表示，對香港而言，維持聯(lián)系匯率制的理由越來越站不住腳。
Francis Lui, an economics professor at Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology, said the argument for maintaining the peg was becoming ”more difficult” for Hong Kong to maintain.
他表示，香港的經(jīng)濟周期不再與美國同步，由于實行聯(lián)系匯率制，“政府除了忍著，沒有多少選擇?！?BR> The territory’s economic cycle is no longer synchronised with that of the US and, with the peg in place, ”all that the government can do is to ride it out. There are not many options,” he said.
目前已經(jīng)有跡象表明，高通脹率加上低利率，已經(jīng)開始在香港造成資產(chǎn)泡沫。
There are already signs that high inflation rates combined with low interest rates are creating asset bubbles in Hong Kong.
目前，多數(shù)銀行在香港收取的抵押貸款利率為3%，而6.3%的通脹率意味著實際利率水平絕對處于負值。這刺激了房地產(chǎn)價格的快速上漲，如今已接近1997年地產(chǎn)泡沫時期的水平。僅在1月份，新批的抵押貸款就較前1個月增長了30%。
Inflation of 6.3 per cent means the real interest rate on mortgage loans, for which most banks now charge around 3 per cent in the territory, is firmly negative. This has spurred a rapid rise in property prices, which are now approaching heights last seen during the 1997 property bubble. New mortgage loan approvals in January alone increased 30 per cent compared to the month before.
不過，雷鼎銘表示，不斷膨脹的資產(chǎn)泡沫是“富人的問題”，而且要好于可能出現(xiàn)的相反現(xiàn)象。這里所說的相反現(xiàn)象，指的是美聯(lián)儲在香港經(jīng)濟放緩時加息。
Mr Lui, however, said the developing asset bubbles were a ”rich man’s problem” and were much better than the potential inverse, which would see the Fed raising interest rates as the Hong Kong economy slowed.
Hong Kong’s inflation rose to its highest level in ten years last month, pushed by rising food prices and rents.
2月份的消費者價格指數(shù)(CPI)較上年同期上升6.3%，高于1月份4.3%的升幅，也高于分析師普遍預(yù)期的4.9%。
February’s consumer price index increased 6.3 per cent compared to last year, up from a 4.3 per cent increase recorded in January, and above analysts’ consensus estimates of 4.9 per cent.
上月有許多一次性因素推高了通脹率，其中包括席卷中國大部分地區(qū)的惡劣嚴冬天氣限制了對香港的食品供應(yīng)。香港的食品供應(yīng)大多依賴于內(nèi)地。但經(jīng)濟學(xué)家們表示，香港通脹率的潛在趨勢顯然是向上。
A number of one-off factors drove inflation higher last month, such as the severe winter weather across most of China that restricted food supply to Hong Kong, which relies on the mainland for much of its nourishment. But economists said the underlying trend for Hong Kong’s inflation is clearly upwards.
香港可以用來解決通脹問題的貨幣政策工具很有限，因為香港實行的是聯(lián)系匯率制，其利率決策唯美聯(lián)儲(Fed)馬首是瞻。
Hong Kong is constrained in the monetary tools it has available to tackle inflation since the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the US currency leaves it subject to the interest rate whims of the Federal Reserve.
香港科技大學(xué)(Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology)經(jīng)濟學(xué)教授雷鼎銘(Francis Lui)表示，對香港而言，維持聯(lián)系匯率制的理由越來越站不住腳。
Francis Lui, an economics professor at Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology, said the argument for maintaining the peg was becoming ”more difficult” for Hong Kong to maintain.
他表示，香港的經(jīng)濟周期不再與美國同步，由于實行聯(lián)系匯率制，“政府除了忍著，沒有多少選擇?！?BR> The territory’s economic cycle is no longer synchronised with that of the US and, with the peg in place, ”all that the government can do is to ride it out. There are not many options,” he said.
目前已經(jīng)有跡象表明，高通脹率加上低利率，已經(jīng)開始在香港造成資產(chǎn)泡沫。
There are already signs that high inflation rates combined with low interest rates are creating asset bubbles in Hong Kong.
目前，多數(shù)銀行在香港收取的抵押貸款利率為3%，而6.3%的通脹率意味著實際利率水平絕對處于負值。這刺激了房地產(chǎn)價格的快速上漲，如今已接近1997年地產(chǎn)泡沫時期的水平。僅在1月份，新批的抵押貸款就較前1個月增長了30%。
Inflation of 6.3 per cent means the real interest rate on mortgage loans, for which most banks now charge around 3 per cent in the territory, is firmly negative. This has spurred a rapid rise in property prices, which are now approaching heights last seen during the 1997 property bubble. New mortgage loan approvals in January alone increased 30 per cent compared to the month before.
不過，雷鼎銘表示，不斷膨脹的資產(chǎn)泡沫是“富人的問題”，而且要好于可能出現(xiàn)的相反現(xiàn)象。這里所說的相反現(xiàn)象，指的是美聯(lián)儲在香港經(jīng)濟放緩時加息。
Mr Lui, however, said the developing asset bubbles were a ”rich man’s problem” and were much better than the potential inverse, which would see the Fed raising interest rates as the Hong Kong economy slowed.