Consumption Price Picks Up, Deflation Slows Down

The Consumption Price Index (CPI)of China rose by 1 percentage point in January compared with last December, indicating further alleviation of the deflation trend occurred in the past two years.

The figure released by State Statistical Bureau today shows that the general consumer price level in January climbed by 0.9 percentage point over December; the general level of retail price of commodities nationwide went up by 1 percentage point over the previous month. The growth rate of price was zero last December.

The average increase rate of the general level of the national consumer price this January was obviously higher than the 0.2 percent rate of last year's January and the 0.7 percent rate in the same month of 1998.

Compared with the previous year, there was a sharp fall in the decrease rate of China's consumption price. Despite the lagging effect caused by the continuous price fall in the past two years, the decrease rate in the general level of consumer price shrank by 1 percentage point from January last year, and that of retail price by 0.7 percentage point.

Figures from the State Statistical Bureau demonstrate that the general level of consumer price in January dropped by 0.2 percent from last year's same month, and that of retail price by 2.1 percent.

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