NBS: China's April CPI rises 1.2%, PPI up 2.8% YoY

In April, China's CPI rebounded from March's monthly decline and recorded stronger annual growth, driven by rising energy and service prices, said Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician with the NBS.

Energy prices rose 5.7% on month in April, with gasoline prices jumping 12.6% from March and surging 19.3% on year, according to NBS data.

Meanwhile, travel activity picked up during the Qingming Festival holiday over April 4-6, pushing tourism service prices up 4.1% from March and 4% from a year earlier, the data showed.

Specifically, China's domestic airfares, car rental prices, and hotel accommodation costs rose 29.2%, 8.6% and 3.9% respectively, from March.

In contrast, food prices fell 1.6% both on month and on year as food supply increased rapidly amid warmer spring weather, Dong said.

China's core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, edged up 0.2% from March and rose 1.2% on year in April.

China's PPI, meanwhile, posted its largest on-month increase since October 2021 and its strongest on-year growth since July 2022, supported by firm global energy prices, Dong noted.

In April, China's prices for oil and natural gas drilling services jumped 18.5% from March and surged 28.6% from a year earlier, according to NBS data.

Prices for steelmaking and steel processing rose 0.6% on month, though they were down 1.1% on year. Prices for non-ferrous metals manufacturing and processing increased 0.2% from March and jumped 22.5% from a year earlier, the data showed.

During the first four months of 2026, China's CPI rose 0.9% from the same period last year, while PPI increased 0.2% on year, according to NBS statistics.

Written by Anthea Shi, shihui@mysteel.com

Edited by Vivian Yang, yangzhenqi@mysteel.com