Hong Kong's overall consumer prices rose 6.9 percent in July over the same month a year earlier, larger than the 4.1-percent year-on-year increase in June, the city's Census and Statistics Department said Tuesday.

Netting out the effects of the government's one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of increase in the Composite Consumer Price Index, or underlying inflation rate, was 4.2 percent in July, also larger than the 4-percent rise recorded in June.

The department said the increase was mainly due to the low base of comparison resulting from the government's payment of public housing rentals in July last year.

In July, year-on-year increases in prices were recorded for housing, electricity, gas and water, meals bought away from home, miscellaneous services, food, transport, miscellaneous goods, alcoholic drinks and tobacco, and clothing and footwear.

The department said that underlying consumer price inflation edged up further on a year-on-year comparison in July mainly reflecting the continued feed-through of the past private housing rental increases and the rise in package tour costs.

Inflation is still subject to modest upside risks in the coming months, mainly due to the lagged effects of the notable rise in private housing rentals during 2012.

Subdued imported inflation and milder increases in fresh-let residential rentals in the first half of 2013 should help contain inflation in the latter part of the year, the department noted.