NBS: China's July CPI rises 0.5%, PPI up 3.5% YoY

The on-year growth in CPI was milder than the 1% increase recorded in June, dragged mainly by slower rises in gasoline prices, said Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician at the NBS.

In July, China's gasoline prices rose 1% on year, compared with a 17% jump in June, NBS data showed.

Food prices weakened on ample supply in July, with the food price index sliding 1.5% on year but holding steady from June, according to the NBS. Fresh fruit prices fell 1.1% on year and 3.8% on month, while cooking oil prices dropped 0.3% on year and 0.1% on month.

In contrast, tourism prices strengthened in July as travel activity picked up nationwide during the summer holidays, Dong noted. Prices for travel agency and other tourism services rose 2.2% on year and 6.6% on month.

Excluding energy and food, China's core inflation rose 0.9% on year and 0.3% on month in July, according to the NBS.

Meanwhile, China's PPI continued to rise on a yearly basis in July, driven by strengthening global energy prices, though it softened further on month amid weak domestic industrial demand, Dong said.

Last month, prices in coal mining and processing jumped 27.1% on year and rose 4.2% on month, while prices in the oil and natural gas drilling industry gained 3.2% on year but fell 9.2% on month, NBS data showed.

China's prices in the steelmaking and fabrication sector rose 2.7% on year but slipped 0.8% on month, while prices in non-ferrous metals manufacturing and processing jumped 20.2% on year but fell 1.7% on month, according to the NBS.

Over January-July, China's CPI rose 0.9% from a year earlier, while PPI gained 1.8% on year, NBS statistics showed.

Written by Anthea Shi, shihui@mysteel.com

Edited by Vivian Yang, Yangzhenqi@mysteel.com