MNI BRIEF: China's Aug CPI, PPI Edge Up On Higher Oil Prices
China’s Consumer Price Index edged up to 0.8% in August, from July's 0.5%, meeting expectations for a 0.8% rise, driven by a rebound in oil prices and seasonal increases in food prices, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Wednesday.
The year-on-year increase was mainly due to higher energy prices which rose 4.1%, up from 0.6% previously, contributing 0.28 percentage points to the headline figure. On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.4%, reversing a 0.1% decline in the previous month. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 1.0% y/y, up from 0.9% in July.
| Key Drivers | Month-on-month Change | Year-on-year Change | ||
| Aug | Jul | Aug | Jul | |
| Food | 0.4% | 0.0% | -1.4% | -1.5% |
| Services | 0.1% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| Fuel Cost | 6.6% | -9.8% | 8.3% | 0.8% |
| Gold Jewellery | 7.6% | -2.6% | 33.6% | 24.6% |
The Producer Price Index rose by 3.8% y/y in August, accelerating from July's 3.5% gain, beating the median forecast of 3.6%. (See MNI: China's Inflation To Moderate, Broad-based Cuts Unlikely)
On a monthly basis, PPI rose 0.4%, reversing the previous 0.7% decline, mainly due to imported factors, higher prices in some advanced manufacturing sectors, seasonal demand for electricity and coal.
