China CPI Growth Fell for Two Consecutive Months in January

SHANGHAI, Feb 16 

The month-on-month CPI turned from a decline to an increase, and the year-on-year growth rate fell back

In January, all departments in all regions are urged to continue to ensure ample supply of important livelihood commodities before the Spring Festival, ensuring consumer price generally stable.

CPI increased by 0.4% MoM from a decrease of 0.3% in the previous month. Among them, food prices changed from a decrease of 0.6% to an increase of 1.4% in the previous month, driving CPI increase by about 0.26 percentage points. In food industry, affected by the factor of the Spring Festival, the prices of fresh fruit, aquatic products and fresh vegetables rose by 7.2%, 4.1% and 3.1% respectively; besides, under the circumstance that the winter seasoning food was basically out of market and more pigs are sold before the festival, the supply of pork were becoming sufficient, leaving its price fell by 2.5%. Non-food prices changed from a decrease of 0.2% to an increase of 0.2%  in the previous month, leaving CPI increase by about 0.18 percentage points. In such range, the prices of industrial consumer goods remained unchanged from a decrease of 0.5% in the previous month. Affected by an increase in international energy prices, the prices of gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum rose by 2.2%, 2.4% and 1.5% respectively. Prices in service industry rose by 0.3% on the basis of previous month, which was unchanged from the month before. In addition, the number of pre-holiday trips increased, and the prices of plane tickets, transportation rental fees and long-distance buses increased by 12.4%, 9.8% and 5.2% respectively; Influenced by the increase in demand for services and trips to return hometown from some workers living in urban cities, the prices of housekeeping services, maternal and child care services, and hairdressing have all risen, ranging from 2.6% to 9.1%.

CPI rose by 0.9% YoY, a decrease of 0.6 percentage points from the previous month. Food prices fell by 3.8%, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points from the previous month, leaving CPI drop by about 0.72 percentage points. As to food, due to close relation with basic index in the same period of last year, the price of pork fell by 41.6%, with dropping rate expanded by 4.9 percentage points; the price of fresh vegetables changed from an increase of 10.6% in the previous month to a decrease of 4.1%; the prices of fresh fruits and aquatic products increased by 9.9% and 8.8% respectively, both of them saw a wider increase. Non-food prices rose by 2.0%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the growth rate of previous month, leaving CPI increase by about 1.64 percentage points. In this range, the prices of industrial consumer goods rose by 2.5%, and the growth rate dropped by 0.4 percentage points. Among them, the prices of gasoline and diesel rose by 20.7% and 22.7% respectively, and both their growth rates were lower than that of the previous month; the prices of services industry rose by 1.7%, and the growth rate increased by 0.2 percentage points. What’s more, the prices of plane tickets and family services rose by 20.8% and 6.2% respectively, and the prices of education and medical services rose by 2.7% and 0.9% respectively.