NBS: China's Aug CPI slips 0.4%, PPI falls 2.9% YoY

China's CPI performance weakened last month, dragged mainly by the comparatively low prices for food, commented Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician with NBS.

Domestic food prices dropped 4.3% on year in August, with the prices of pork, fresh vegetables, and egg slipping 16.1%, 15.2%, and 14.2% respectively from the same month last year, NBS data showed. Although the food prices edged up 0.5% from July, the growth was much smaller than the average 1.6% on-month increase recorded for the same period in the past few years, Dong noted.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, China's core inflation in August remained unchanged on month and rose by 0.9% on year driven mainly by the rising prices of gold and platinum jewelry, according to NBS data.

On the other hand, the country's PPI ended its steady decline that started last December and stabilized on month in August, and its on-year drop narrowed as well, as the improved downstream demand provided support for the prices of some industrial products, Dong noted.

For example, China's prices for coal mining and processing rose by 2.8% on month in August, though they were still 19.8% lower on year, NBS data showed. Meanwhile, domestic prices for the steelmaking and fabricating industry rose by 1.9% from July, despite a 4% on-year drop.

During January-August this year, China's CPI dipped 0.1% on year, and its PPI declined 2.9% compared with the same period last year, according to NBS statistics.

Written by Anthea Shi, shihui@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com