China inflation: factory-gate price growth quickened in July, higher than expected

China’s official producer price index (PPI) rose by 9 per cent in July from a year earlier, compared with 8.8 per cent in June

The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1 per cent in July from a year earlier, compared with a 1.1 per cent rise in June

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China’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1 per cent from a year earlier in July, compared with a 1.1 per cent rise in June. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 9:35am, 9 Aug 2021Updated: 5:21pm, 11 Aug 2021

Factory-gate price inflation in China remained high in July, data released on Monday showed.

The producer price index (PPI), which reflects the prices that factories charge wholesalers for their products, rose by 9 per cent in July from a year earlier, from a gain of 8.8 per cent in June the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

This was above expectations, as a Bloomberg survey of analysts had predicted a rise of 8.6 per cent.

“The price increase of industrial products expanded slightly in July as prices of crude oil, coal and related products rose sharply,” said senior NBS economist Dong Lijuan.

China’s official consumer price index (CPI), meanwhile, rose by 1 per cent in July from a year earlier, down from 1.1 per cent in June, the NBS said.

This was above the Bloomberg survey median, which had predicted a 0.8 per cent rise.

Beijing has set a 2021 CPI growth target of around 3 per cent, compared with around 3.5 per cent last year.