China’s Jan CPI, PPI miss expectations

SHANGHAI, Feb 15 (SMM) – The growth of consumer and producer prices in China for January both fell short of expectations.

The consumer price index (CPI), a gauge of prices for goods and services, expanded 0.5% on the month, after it lost 0.3% in December. Economists expected the CPI to increase by the same margin as December, of 1.9%. It rose 1.7% from January 2018, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday February 15.

The producer price index (PPI), which measures price increases before they are passed onto consumers, rose 0.1% year on year in January, the lowest gain since September 2016, compared to the expectations of a growth of 0.3%.

The PPI declined 0.6% on the month, after it lost 1% in December.