Beijing sees positive price trends in July amid demand pickup

China reported positive signs in terms of both consumer and producer prices last month, as government policies to boost domestic demand continued to take hold.

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, climbed 0.4% in July compared with the previous month, reversing a 0.1-percent drop in June and exceeding the average seasonal pace of 0.3%, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Saturday.

On an annual basis, the CPI was unchanged in July, while the core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.8% – a rising streak for three consecutive months.

NBS statistician Dong Lijuan said these positive trends were driven mainly by higher prices for services and industrial consumer goods, while emphasizing the effective role of policy measures in expanding demand.

China has intensified moves to bolster domestic economic circulation this year, including stronger fiscal support for consumer goods trade-ins nationwide and strengthened focus on key service sectors such as elderly care and childcare and digital consumption.

Saturday’s data also revealed improved signs in the industrial sector. The producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, fell 0.2% from a month ago in July – an improvement considering the 0.4%-drop recorded in June, while also marking the first month-on-month narrowing since March. Compared with a year earlier, the PPI slid by 3.6% in July, the same as in June.

Dong attributed the improving PPI performance in part to optimized market competition order, ongoing industrial shifts and unleashed domestic demand potential. CHINADAILY