By Yin Lei
China saw its Consumer Price Index (CPI) in August rise by 0.7 percent month-on-month and 2.3 percent year-on-year, an update by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.
On a monthly basis, the CPI in August grew 0.4 percentage point faster than in July, which mainly resulted from rising food prices, according to the NBS.
In August, food prices in China increased by 2.4 percent month-on-month, driving the CPI up by 0.46 percentage point.
Specifically, vegetable prices rose by 9.0 percent due to rain and hot weather, up by 7.3 percentage points from July, contributing 0.21 percentage point to the 2.4 percent monthly rise. The price of pork rose by 6.5 percent, 3.6 percentage points higher than in July, amid the shrinking supply caused by slower pig growth in the summer and outbreaks of African swine fever in some parts of China.
The prices of non-food items went up by 0.2 percent, pushing the monthly CPI up by 0.20 percentage point.
Year-on-year, the CPI remained at a stable level, growing 0.2 percentage point faster than in July. The prices for food and non-food items were up by 1.7 percent and 2.5 percent respectively, contributing 0.33 percentage point and 1.98 percentage points to the monthly change.
Of the 2.3 percent year-on-year growth, about 1.0 percent stemmed from the carryover effect from the price changes last year. The CPI growth from January to August averaged 2.0 percent, according to the NBS.
The producer price index for industrial products (PPI) saw a month-on-month rise of 0.4 percent and a year-on-year climb of 4.1 percent.
The monthly figure grew 0.3 percentage point faster than in the preceding month because of the 0.5 percent price rise in the means of production and 0.3 percent price increase in the means of livelihood. Of the 40 industrial sectors covered by the NBS, 30 experienced higher prices in August.
Year-on-year, the 4.1 percent PPI growth in August was 0.5 percentage point lower than in July. The average increase in PPI from January to August was 4.0 percent.
Of the above 4.1 percent change, about 3.0 percent was caused by the carryover effect from the price changes last year.
