China’s consumer price index remains flat despite almost 50 per cent spike in cost of pork

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.8 per cent, unchanged from the previous month’s rate as a 23.1 per cent rise in pork prices continued to fuel inflation

China’s producer price index (PPI), reflecting the prices that factories charge wholesalers for their products, fell 0.8 per cent in August

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Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the producer price index (PPI), reflecting the prices that factories charge wholesalers for their products, fell 0.8 per cent. Photo: AP

Published: 10:06am, 10 Sep 2019Updated: 4:46pm, 12 May 2020

China’s consumer price index remained flat in August despite pork prices rising close to 50 per cent from a year earlier, drawing some ridicule from online users.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.8 per cent in August, unchanged from the previous month’s rate as a 23.1 per cent rise in pork prices from July continued to fuel inflation, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This was slightly higher than the 2.7 per cent analysts’ forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

The spread of African swine fever has led to rising pork prices and over 1 million pigs being culled since June. The NBS said pork prices rose 46.7 per cent compared to a year earlier, while overall food prices rose 10 per cent.

The NBS said the CPI was “basically stable” as non-food prices rose by only 1.1 per cent. Clothing prices rose 1.6 per cent in August while housing inflation edged up 1.0 per cent, although the cost of transport and communication fell 2.3 per cent last month.

However, the official data, which put the headline inflation figure within the government’s target of 3 per cent, has been met with strong scepticism from the public.