Hong Kong's overall consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in September over the same month last year, following a 1.6 percent drop in August, the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said on Thursday.

Netting out the effects of the local government's one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of change for the month was0.3 percent down, the same as August. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly rate of change for the period from July to September was 0.3 percent down.

The department said the headline consumer price inflation reverted to positive as the effects of the government's subsidy on power charges began to fade. Netting out the effects of the one- off measures, the underlying inflation rate remained slightly negative as local cost pressures were contained and imported inflation was virtually absent. The upward pressure on consumer prices is expected to remain weak in the coming months.

Year-on-year price increases were recorded for electricity, gas and water at 23.4 percent, alcohol and tobacco at 23 percent, clothing and footwear at 4.5 percent, miscellaneous goods at 1.5 percent and housing at 0.7 percent.

Declines were found in durable goods at 3 percent, transport at2.3 percent, food excluding meals bought away from home at 2 percent and miscellaneous services at 1.4 percent

Taking the first nine months of this year together the composite consumer price index rose 0.2 percent over a year earlier.