HONG KONG - Hong Kong's overall consumer prices rose 4.9 percent in March over the same month last year, compared to the corresponding increase of 4.7 percent in February, the city's Census & Statistics Department announced on Monday.

With imported inflation gradually receding on the peaking of global food and commodity prices last year, and with a slowing local economy, inflation should ease further, the department said.

Netting out the effects of all government one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of increase in the Composite Consumer Price Index in March 2012 was 5.6 percent, smaller than the average rate of increase in February 2012 recorded at 5.4 percent, mainly due to smaller increases in private housing rentals, charges for package tours, and cigarette prices.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly rate of increase in the Composite Consumer Price Index from January to March 2012 was 0.4 percent, the same as that for December to February 2012.