A customer shops for tomatoes at the vegetable section of a supermarket in Beijing, China, Oct. 17. Reuters-Yonhap
Despite efforts to stimulate consumption, China's consumer price growth fell short of expectations in December, adding uncertainty to the recovery prospects of the world's second-largest economy.
The consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, rose by 0.1 percent year on year last month, compared with a 0.2 percent increase in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.
The figure was lower than the 0.16 percent growth forecast in a poll by financial data provider Wind.
In 2024, China's consumer prices increased by 0.2 percent, unchanged from the 0.2 percent growth recorded in 2023, marking the lowest level since 2009 and well below the official control target of 3 percent.
Since April 2023, China's CPI growth has hovered around zero, sparking market concerns about deflationary pressures and weak demand.
In the CPI breakdown, food prices decreased by 0.5 percent year on year, while non-food prices increased by 0.2 percent.
The price of pork — the mainstay of Chinese diets — rose 12.5 percent, while fruit prices fell 3.0 percent, and vegetable prices climbed 0.5 percent.
However, prices in other categories declined. For instance, household appliance prices dropped by 3.3 percent, housing rents fell by 0.3 percent, and car prices decreased by 4.2 percent.
In month-on-month terms, December's CPI remained unchanged, following a 0.6 percent decline in November, the NBS said.
Meanwhile, the producer price index (PPI), which tracks factory gate prices, fell by 2.3 percent in December, marking the 27th consecutive month of decline. In November, it was down 2.5 percent.
December's reading was in line with the 2.3 percent drop predicted in Wind's survey of economists.
PPI fell by 2.2 percent last year, following a 3.0 percent decline in 2023.
Read the full story at SCMP.
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