China’s producer price index up 4.7 per cent in June, beating forecasts
Factory gate prices accelerated from the previous month’s increase of 4.1 per cent, while consumer inflation also edged up
China’s producer inflation accelerated to a six-month high in June, lifted by strong commodity prices and threatening to put more pressure on the country’s exporters as a trade war escalates between Washington and Beijing.
Annual consumer inflation also edged up as food prices rose at a faster pace, official data showed on Tuesday, though the central bank is likely to remain more focused on cushioning the slowing economy than retail prices.
The United States and China slapped tariffs on US$34 billion worth of each others’ goods last week, fuelling fears of a prolonged battle that would hurt global trade, investment and growth, while also damaging US farm exports and potentially driving up food prices in China.
The producer price index (PPI) – a gauge of industrial profitability – rose by a stronger-than-expected 4.7 per cent in June from a year earlier, compared with a 4.1 per cent increase in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
China’s producer inflation has now picked up for three months in a row after easing in late 2017.
On a month-on-month basis, the PPI rose 0.3 per cent in June, compared with 0.4 per cent growth in May.