Hong Kong's overall consumer prices was up 3.9 percent in August 2014 over the same month a year earlier, slightly smaller than the corresponding increase of 4 percent in July, the Census and Statistics Department announced Monday. Netting out the effects of all government's one-off relief measures, the underlying inflation rate in August 2014 was 3.2 percent, also slightly smaller than that in July 3.3 percent, mainly due to the enlarged decreases in the charges for package tours. A government spokesman said that inflationary pressures stayed on an easing trend, with the underlying Composite CPI showing a slightly slower year-on-year increase in August, reflecting the receding rental cost pressures and the modest rise in import prices. The spokesman commented further that, looking ahead, the relatively mild imported inflation alongside the generally moderate local price pressures should help keep underlying inflation contained in the rest of the year. Nevertheless, headline inflation will likely pick up temporarily in September 2014 on a year-on-year comparison, as the government's payment of public housing rentals in September last year created a low base of comparison, he added.