Newly released economic figures indicate that the price of pork is lifting the consumer price index and signaling resurgent market demand in industrial products, says Yu Qiumei, a senior statistician with the National Bureau of Statistics.

The May China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by an annual 2.5 percent, and the producer price index (PPI) contracted 1.4 percent, while on a monthly basis, the CPI edged up 0.1 percent and PPI dropped 1.4 percent.

(Photo/ National Bureau of Statistics)

Pork price boosts the CPI figure

In May, Chinese government added pork reserves to stabilize prices; after four months of consecutive decline, pork prices jumped 5.6 percent in April, pushing the CPI up by 0.15 percentage points, while with higher temperatures, falling egg output caused the price of eggs to leap by 9.5%. But prices for fresh vegetables dropped as a result of seasonal factors.

(Photo/ National Bureau of Statistics)

Market demand in industrial products rebounds

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for manufactured goods dropped 0.1 percent month-on-month, and contracted 1.4 percent year on year - the 27th consecutive month of decline. However, the rate of decline narrowed from April's two percent to a five-month low.

According to the month-on-month changes of prices in 30 different industries, the product prices for 16 industries have increased and the other 14 sectors have fallen. Manufacture and processing of non-ferrous metals, production and distribution of water, and extraction of petroleum and natural gas experienced higher producer prices than last month. Producer prices for the mining and quarrying industry, for the ferrous metals manufacturing and processing industry, and for the non-metallic mineral products manufacturing industry have fallen month-on-month.

Overall the year-on-year and month-on-month decreases narrowed from the previous month, signaling rebounding market demand in industrial products, said Yu Qiumei, a senior statistician with the NBS. 

The article is edited and translated from 《专家：猪肉价格影响5月CPI涨幅 工业品市场需求回暖》, source: People's Daily Online