China’s consumer prices fell for the first time in more than two years in July, while the country’s factory-gate price index declined at a slower rate, official data showed Wednesday.
China’s consumer-price index dropped 0.3% from a year earlier in July, after remaining flat in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
The reading marked the first decline since February 2021, when CPI fell 0.2% on year, and compared with the 0.4% fall expected by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.
Food prices dropped 1.7% on year in July, compared with a 2.3% increase in June. Vegetable prices dropped 1.5%, compared with June’s 10.8% growth. Pork prices fell 26% in July, widening from a 7.2% decline in June.
Non-food prices remained flat on year in July after dropping 0.6% in June.
On month, China’s CPI climbed 0.2% in July, compared with June’s 0.2% decline, ending a five-month fall, according to the data.
Meanwhile, China’s factory-gate prices dropped 4.4% from a year ago in July, compared with the 4.1% fall anticipated by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, narrowing from June’s 5.4% decline.
On a monthly basis, China’s PPI fell 0.2% in July, compared with June’s 0.8% decline, the statistics bureau said.