Posted on 12 Sep 2023
China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) picked up 0.1% on year and increased by 0.3% on month in August, while domestic Producer Price Index (PPI) lost 3% on year but edged up 0.2% from July, according to the latest data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Saturday.
The country's CPI registered a faster growth rate last month with domestic consuming activities continuing to recover, while the loose supply of consumer goods started to tighten, noted Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician with the NBS.
For example, China's food prices reversed from the prior month's drop and gained 0.5% on month in August, with the prices of pork and eggs rising 11.4% and 8.3% respectively from July, according to NBS data.
"The extreme weather events disrupted pork logistics in some regions (of China), and some pig farmers slowed down their sales last month after seeing the previous weakening of the (pork) prices," Dong noted. Meanwhile, "the egg production declined in summer, but its consumption swelled (in late August) with the approach of a new school term, which drove up the egg prices," Dong added.
Chinese prices in the tourism industry continued rising vigorously by 14.8% on year and gained 1.4% on month in August, with the travel activities still being passionate during the summer vacations across the country, according to Dong.
On the other hand, China's PPI ended a four-month drop and strengthened on month in August, supported by multiple factors including the county's improved demand for metal products as well as the strengthening of global crude oil prices, Mysteel Global learned.
In August, Chinese steelmaking and fabrication companies saw their ex-work product prices rise 0.1% on month, and the prices in the non-ferrous metals manufacturing and processing industry increased 0.4% on month, according to NBS data. In the meantime, domestic prices in the oil and natural gas drilling sector rose further by 5.6% compared to July.
However, the prices in China's coal mining and processing industry lost 0.8% on month and slumped 16.2% on year, mainly due to the weak coal demand in the traditional slack season for its consumption, Dong explained.
Over January-August overall, China's CPI had gained 0.5% on year, while PPI had slipped 3.2% on year, according to NBS statistics.
Source:Mysteel Global
