Hong Kong’s finance chief has said the Middle East war has played only a limited role in driving up local inflation, noting the city’s service-based economy and stable energy supplies from mainland China have mitigated the effects of external shocks.

Briefing the Legislative Council on Monday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the surge in global fuel prices was expected to affect fuel-related consumer prices, pushing inflation higher.

“Rising international oil prices will continue to feed through to consumer prices and fuel-related products,” Chan told Legco’s panel on financial affairs.

“However, as Hong Kong is a service-oriented economy with relatively low energy dependency, and with stable energy supplies from the mainland, the external impact can be mitigated.”

The government last month revised its 2026 forecasts for underlying and headline consumer price inflation from 1.7 per cent and 1.8 per cent to 2.5 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively.

Lawmakers asked Chan whether the government had considered all factors when revising the forecast.