Source: Sharecast
The consumer price index was 0.4% lower than last year, following no change in July and a 0.1% gain in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
That was the biggest annual decrease since February, and the second-steepest in 18 months, missing the consensus forecast of -0.2%.
While non-food price inflation picked up to 0.5% in August from 0.3% in July – accelerating for clothing, healthcare and education – food prices fell by 4.3% year-on-year following a 1.6% decline. Meanwhile, transport price deflation eased to -2.4% from -3.1%.
Core inflation, which excludes more volatile items like food and energy, quickened to 0.9% from 0.8%, marking its highest rate in a year and a half.
In other news, China's producer price index logged a 2.9% decline in August, compared with last year, easing from 3.6% deflation in July. This was the 35th straight month of whole price deflation and in line with market forecasts.
