Source: Sharecast
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed the consumer price index (CPI) was unchanged year-on-year, compared with a 0.1% rise in June and defying forecasts of a slight decline.
On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.4%, reversing June’s 0.1% drop.
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.8% from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 17 months, helped by smaller declines in car and phone prices.
Food prices fell 1.6% from a year earlier, with tobacco, liquor, transportation and communication also weighing on the headline figure.
The producer price index (PPI) dropped 3.6% from a year earlier, matching June’s fall and exceeding expectations for a smaller decline. The decline - driven by weak demand, overcapacity and intense competition - has persisted for nearly three years.
On a monthly basis, PPI eased 0.2%, an improvement from June’s 0.4% drop.
Authorities had pledged to tackle “disorderly competition” in sectors such as autos and high-tech manufacturing as part of a broader campaign to address excess industrial capacity.
However, analysts say these measures may have limited effect without stronger demand-side stimulus, pointing to continued headwinds from a prolonged housing slump, high youth unemployment and fragile consumer sentiment.
While resilient export growth has provided some support - July shipments rose 7.2% from a year earlier - manufacturing surveys pointed to renewed weakness.
Both official and private-sector PMIs slipped further into contraction in July, with new export orders falling for a fourth straight month.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
