China's consumer prices increase mildly, factory inflation eases

A woman shops at a supermarket in Congtai District of Handan, north China's Hebei Province, July 9, 2022. (Photo by Hao Qunying/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.7 percent year on year in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

Non-food prices rose 1.9 percent from a year earlier, easing from the 2.5-percent rise in June, the NBS data showed.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, gained 0.8 percent year on year in July, lower than the 1 percent increase in June.

On a monthly basis, the CPI inched up 0.5 percent due to rising pork and fresh vegetable prices, as well as seasonal factors, said Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician with the NBS.

Food prices went up 3 percent from the previous month, driving up the monthly consumer inflation by about 0.53 percentage points, according to the data.

Specifically, the price of pork, a staple meat in China, increased 25.6 percent month-on-month in July, partly due to the reluctance of some pork farmers to sell, while consumer demand recovered, said Dong.

Chen Guanghua, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said at a press conference in July that there would not be a "sustained and sharp increase" in hog prices as hog production is sufficient.

In July, the price of fresh vegetables rose 10.3 percent month on month due to continuous high temperatures in many regions of the country, while the price of fresh fruit dropped by 3.8 percent because of increasing market supply.

Non-food prices declined 0.1 percent month on month, dragging the CPI down by 0.07 percentage points. Due to declining international oil prices, China's gasoline and diesel prices fell 3.4 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.

The costs of air tickets, hotel accommodation and tourism rose 6.1 percent, 5 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, due to the increase in summer travels.

Wednesday's data also showed that China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went up 4.2 percent year on year in July.

The figure moderated from the 6.1 percent year-on-year increase registered in June. On a monthly basis, China's PPI fell 1.3 percent last month.

As the monetary policies of major economies continue to tighten and international commodity prices decline, China faces less pressure from imported inflation, Wen Bin, Chief Economist with China Minsheng Bank, said in a co-authored research note.

However, he cautioned about uncertainties stemming from the global geopolitical situation.

Wen also estimated that China would see increasing pressure from structural inflation.