MNI BRIEF: China December CPI Near Three-year High
China’s Consumer Price Index rose 0.8% y/y in December, up from November's 0.7% growth to hit the highest level since February 2023, in line with expectations for a 0.8% gain, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Friday.
The y/y increase was mainly driven by a 1.1% rise in food prices which was 0.9 percentage points higher than the previous month. On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.2%, reversing the previous 0.1% decline. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 1.2%, flat from November's reading, marking the fourth consecutive month to be above 1%.
| Key Drivers | Month-on-month Change | Year-on-year Change | ||
| Dec | Nov | Dec | Nov | |
| Vegetables | 0.8% | 7.2% | 18.2% | 14.5% |
| Pork | -1.7% | -2.2% | -14.6% | -15.0% |
| Gold Jewelry | 5.6% | 7.3% | 68.5% | 58.4% |
| Communication Tools | 3.0% | -0.8% | -0.7% | -0.7% |
China’s Producer Price Index fell 1.9% y/y in December, narrowing from November's 2.2% drop, marking the 39th straight month of decline. The figure outperformed the median forecast of -2.0%.
On a monthly basis, PPI rose for the third month by 0.2%, up from the previous 0.1% gain, with prices in coal mining and processing rising for the fifth month amid the government's "anti-involution" campaign.
