NBS: China's June CPI rises 1%, PPI gains 4.1% YoY

China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1% in June from a year earlier, although it dropped 0.3% from the previous month, while the country's Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by a marked 4.1% on year but slipped 0.3% on month, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The low base of industrial consumer goods prices in the same month last year continued to drive the on-year growth in China's CPI in June, but the pace was slower than the 1.2% on-year increase recorded in May, commented Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician at the NBS.

Domestic prices for gold jewelry and petrol in June maintained double-digit rises of 28% and 17% from a year earlier, contributing a large part to the CPI growth. But compared to May, these two prices dropped 8.7% and 4.9% respectively in June along with the fluctuations in global market prices, NBS data showed.

Meanwhile, service prices also contributed modestly to the 1% on-year growth of the country's CPI, with the prices for medical services and education services rising 3.4% and 0.6% from their prior-year levels respectively.

In contrast, China's food prices decreased 1.6% on year and fell 0.6% on month in June, due to the increasingly ample food supply in the market. Specifically, pork prices slumped 15.9% on year and fell 0.8% on month, while the prices of fresh vegetables slipped 0.3% on year and 1% on month.

Excluding energy and food prices, China's core inflation increased 1% on year and dipped 0.1% on month, according to NBS data.

On the other hand, the country's PPI also continued to increase on a yearly basis in June thanks to its low base in the same month last year, NBS data showed.

For example, domestic prices for coal mining and processing jumped 20.6% on year and rose 5.6% on month in June, while the prices for steelmaking and fabrication increased 3.1% on year and edged up 0.4% on month.

However, the PPI retreated from the previous month in June, mainly dragged by the weakening global prices for crude oil. Last month, Chinese prices for oil and natural gas drilling slumped 11.8% on month, though they remained 16.8% higher on year.

Over January-June, China's CPI increased 1% on year, and its PPI rose 1.5% from the same period last year, according to NBS statistics.

Written by Anthea Shi, shihui@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com