National Bureau of Statistics (NBS): CPI in May decreased by 0.1% YoY and 0.2% MoM

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in May, the national consumer price index (CPI) decreased by 0.1% YoY. Specifically, prices in urban areas remained flat, while those in rural areas decreased by 0.4%. Food prices decreased by 0.4%, while non-food prices remained flat. Prices of consumer goods decreased by 0.5%, while service prices increased by 0.5%. On average from January to May, the national CPI decreased by 0.1% compared to the same period last year. In May, the national CPI decreased by 0.2% MoM.

In May 2025, the national CPI decreased by 0.1% YoY.

The NBS announced that in May, the national CPI decreased by 0.1% YoY. Specifically, prices in urban areas remained flat, while those in rural areas decreased by 0.4%. Food prices decreased by 0.4%, while non-food prices remained flat. Prices of consumer goods decreased by 0.5%, while service prices increased by 0.5%. On average from January to May, the national CPI decreased by 0.1% compared to the same period last year. In May, the national CPI decreased by 0.2% MoM. In May, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for industrial producers decreased by 0.4% MoM, the same rate of decrease as the previous month, and decreased by 3.3% YoY, with the rate of decrease expanding by 0.6 percentage points compared to the previous month.

In May 2025, the national CPI decreased by 0.1% YoY. Specifically, prices in urban areas remained flat, while those in rural areas decreased by 0.4%. Food prices decreased by 0.4%, while non-food prices remained flat. Prices of consumer goods decreased by 0.5%, while service prices increased by 0.5%. On average from January to May, the national CPI decreased by 0.1% compared to the same period last year.

In May, the national CPI decreased by 0.2% MoM. Specifically, prices in urban areas decreased by 0.2%, while those in rural areas also decreased by 0.2%. Food prices decreased by 0.2%, while non-food prices also decreased by 0.2%. Prices of consumer goods decreased by 0.3%, while service prices remained flat.

I. Year-on-Year Changes in Prices of Various Goods and Services

In May, prices of food, tobacco, and alcohol increased by 0.1% YoY, contributing to an increase of approximately 0.02 percentage points in the CPI. Among food items, prices of fresh fruits increased by 5.5%, contributing to an increase of approximately 0.12 percentage points in the CPI; prices of aquatic products increased by 2.5%, contributing to an increase of approximately 0.05 percentage points in the CPI; prices of meat increased by 0.7%, contributing to an increase of approximately 0.02 percentage points in the CPI, with pork prices increasing by 3.1%, contributing to an increase of approximately 0.04 percentage points in the CPI; prices of fresh vegetables decreased by 8.3%, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.17 percentage points in the CPI; prices of eggs decreased by 3.5%, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.02 percentage points in the CPI; prices of grains decreased by 1.4%, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.02 percentage points in the CPI.

Prices in the other seven categories saw six increases and one decrease YoY. Specifically, prices for other goods and services, clothing, and education, culture, and recreation rose by 7.3%, 1.5%, and 0.9%, respectively, while prices for healthcare, housing, and household goods and services increased by 0.3%, 0.1%, and 0.1%, respectively. In contrast, prices for transportation and communication fell by 4.3%.

II. Month-on-Month Changes in Prices of Various Goods and Services

In May, prices for food, tobacco, and liquor decreased by 0.2% MoM, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.05 percentage points in the CPI. Among food items, prices for fresh vegetables decreased by 5.9%, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.12 percentage points in the CPI; prices for eggs decreased by 0.9%, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.01 percentage points in the CPI; prices for meat decreased by 0.2%, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.01 percentage points in the CPI, with pork prices decreasing by 0.7%, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.01 percentage points in the CPI. Conversely, prices for fresh fruit increased by 3.3%, contributing to an increase of approximately 0.07 percentage points in the CPI, and prices for aquatic products increased by 0.8%, contributing to an increase of approximately 0.02 percentage points in the CPI.

Prices in the other seven categories saw four increases, one flat, and two decreases MoM. Specifically, prices for other goods and services and clothing increased by 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively, while prices for education, culture, and recreation and healthcare both increased by 0.1%. Housing prices remained flat. Prices for transportation and communication and household goods and services decreased by 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively.

CPI Slightly Declined in May 2025, with YoY Growth in Core CPI Expanding

—Interpretation of CPI and PPI Data for May 2025 by Dong Lijuan, Chief Statistician of the Urban Department, National Bureau of Statistics

In May, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreased by 0.2% MoM and 0.1% YoY. Excluding food and energy prices, core CPI increased by 0.6% YoY, with the growth rate expanding by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. The Producer Price Index for Industrial Products (PPI) decreased by 0.4% MoM, with the decline remaining the same as the previous month, and decreased by 3.3% YoY, with the decline expanding by 0.6 percentage points from the previous month. China is boosting consumption with greater intensity and more precise measures, fostering the growth of new quality productive forces, and improving the supply-demand relationship in some areas, leading to positive changes in prices.

I. CPI Slightly Declined, with YoY Growth in Core CPI Expanding

The shift from an increase to a decrease in CPI MoM was mainly influenced by the decline in energy prices. Energy prices decreased by 1.7% MoM, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.13 percentage points in the CPI MoM, accounting for nearly 70% of the total decline in the CPI. Among them, gasoline prices decreased by 3.8%, with the decline expanding by 1.8 percentage points from the previous month. Food prices decreased by 0.2%, with the decline being 1.1 percentage points less than the seasonal level, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.04 percentage points in the CPI MoM. Among these, the market supply of seasonal vegetables increased, leading to a 5.9% decline in fresh vegetable prices. Prices of eggs, pork, and poultry meat remained stable with slight decreases, ranging from 0.3% to 1.0%. Affected by factors such as heavy rainfall in some regions and the summer fishing moratorium, the supply of fresh fruits, freshwater fish, and marine fish decreased, with prices rising by 3.3%, 3.1%, and 1.5%, respectively. As consumer demand continued to recover, coupled with the impact of holidays and cultural and recreational activities held across the country, hotel accommodation and tourism prices rose by 4.6% and 0.8%, respectively, both exceeding seasonal levels. The increase in hotel accommodation prices reached a record high for the same period in the past decade. With the arrival of the summer season and the launch of new summer clothing collections, clothing prices rose by 0.6%.

The CPI declined slightly YoY, with the same rate of decrease as the previous month. Among these, energy prices fell by 6.1% YoY, with the rate of decrease expanding by 1.3 percentage points from the previous month, contributing to a decrease of approximately 0.47 percentage points in the CPI YoY, which was the main factor behind the CPI's YoY decline. Policies aimed at boosting consumption continued to show positive effects, with prices in some sectors showing positive changes. Core CPI rose by 0.6% YoY, with the rate of increase expanding by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month. Among these, industrial consumer goods prices excluding energy rose by 0.6% YoY, with the rate of increase expanding by 0.2 percentage point from the previous month. Prices of gold jewelry, home textiles, and cultural and recreational durable consumer goods rose by 40.1%, 1.9%, and 1.8%, respectively, with all rates of increase expanding. Prices of gasoline-powered passenger cars and new energy passenger cars fell by 4.2% and 2.8%, respectively, with the rates of decrease narrowing. Service prices rose by 0.5%, with the rate of increase expanding by 0.2 percentage point from the previous month. Among services, rental fees for transportation vehicles, airfares, and tourism prices all turned from decline to increase, rising by 3.6%, 1.2%, and 0.9%, respectively.

II. PPI Remained Low, with Marginal Improvements in Prices in Some Sectors

 The main reasons for the MoM decline in PPI this month are as follows: Firstly, international imported factors influenced the decline in domestic prices of related industries. The decline in international crude oil prices affected the decline in domestic prices of petroleum-related industries, with prices in the oil and natural gas extraction industry falling by 5.6%, prices in refined petroleum product manufacturing falling by 3.5%, and prices in the chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry falling by 1.2%. These three industries collectively contributed to a decrease of approximately 0.23 percentage points in PPI MoM, accounting for more than half of the total decline. Secondly, domestic prices of some energy and raw materials declined temporarily. Coal demand was in the off-season, with sufficient coal reserves at power plants and ports. Additionally, the low cost and strong substitution effect of new energy power generation led to a 3.0% decline in prices in the coal mining and washing industry and a 1.1% decline in coal processing prices. Increased high-temperature and rainy weather in south China affected the construction of some real estate and infrastructure projects. Coupled with sufficient production and supply of building materials such as steel and cement, prices in the ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry and the non-metallic mineral products industry both fell by 1.0%. These four industries collectively contributed to a decrease of approximately 0.18 percentage points in PPI MoM.

 Compounded by factors such as a higher base for comparison with the same period last year, the YoY decline in PPI expanded by 0.6 percentage points compared to the previous month. However, from the perspective of marginal changes, with the intensified implementation of macro policies in China, the supply-demand relationship in some industries has improved, and prices in certain areas have shown a positive trend. Firstly, the continuous growth of new consumption momentum has driven a YoY rebound in prices of consumer goods. The continuous effectiveness of policies aimed at boosting consumption has led to the release of demand for some consumer goods, driving up prices in related industries. The MoM decline in consumer goods prices turned to flatness from a 0.2% decrease in the previous month. Among them, prices for clothing, general daily necessities, and durable consumer goods rose by 0.2%, 0.1%, and 0.1%, respectively, driving the YoY decline in consumer goods prices to narrow by 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous month. From an industry perspective, prices for arts and crafts and ceremonial items manufacturing rose by 12.8% YoY, footwear manufacturing prices increased by 0.8%, computer whole machine manufacturing prices rose by 0.2%, and the YoY declines in prices for household washing machines, television manufacturing, and automobile whole vehicle manufacturing narrowed by 1.6, 1.4, and 0.6 percentage points, respectively, compared to the previous month. Secondly, the development of industries such as high-end equipment manufacturing has driven a YoY increase in prices in related industries. The steady advancement of high-end, intelligent, and green transformation in industrial development, along with the expansion of demand for high-tech products, has led to a YoY increase in prices in related industries. Prices for integrated circuit packaging and testing series, aircraft manufacturing all rose by 3.6%, wearable smart device manufacturing prices increased by 3.0%, microwave communication equipment prices rose by 2.1%, server prices increased by 0.8%, and prices for semiconductor device manufacturing equipment rose by 0.7%. In addition, the supply-demand relationship in new energy industries such as PV and lithium battery has improved, with narrowed YoY declines in prices. Prices for PV equipment and components manufacturing, and lithium-ion battery manufacturing fell by 12.1% and 5.0%, respectively, with declines narrowing by 0.4 and 0.3 percentage points, respectively, compared to the previous month.