China’s CPI for April decelerated from the previous month’s 0.7% yoy to a mere 0.1% yoy, well below market expectations of 0.3% yoy. This slowdown marks the lowest inflation rate since February 2021. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, maintained its steady pace at 0.7% yoy.
A breakdown of CPI reveals that food prices, which had increased by 2.4% yoy in March, grew by a much slower 0.4% yoy in April. Non-food prices, on the other hand, edged up by just 0.1% yoy, down from 0.3% yoy.
Senior NBS statistician Dong Lijuan explained the latest CPI figures, saying, “In April, the market supply was generally adequate, and consumer demand gradually recovered, with the CPI falling by 0.1 per cent from a month earlier and rising by 0.1 per cent, year on year.”
In a similar vein, PPI for April fell from -2.5% yoy to -3.6% yoy, again missing market predictions of -3.2% yoy. This marked the steepest fall in PPI since May 2020 and its seventh consecutive month in the negative territory.
Lijuan attributed the PPI plunge to several factors, stating, “In April, PPI fell by 0.5 per cent from a month earlier and by 3.6 per cent, year on year, due to fluctuations in international commodity prices; the overall weakness of the domestic and international market demand; and the higher base of comparison from the same period last year.”
