Investing.com – China’s factory inflation slowed for a fifth month, while the CPI retreated from a four-year high, data on Wednesday showed.
The producer price index (PPI) rose 3.1% in March from a year earlier, compared with the 3.7% in February and the projected 3.3% rise, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on its website. On a month-on-month basis, the PPI fell 0.2%.
Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI) gained 2.1% from a year earlier, missed the expectation of 2.6% and slowed from February’s gain of 2.9% as the effects of booming demands spurred by the Chinese New Year Holiday receded.
On a month-on-month basis, the CPI fell 1.1%. The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.0% in March, compared to 2.5% in February. The food price index rose 2.1% from a year earlier, after rising 4.4% in February.
"For now, there's no sign of China exporting inflation to the world," said Li Wei, a senior economist at Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) Plc in Shanghai, who predicts both PPI and CPI to stabilise in the second half of 2018.
China's central bank governor Yi Gang said last month that he believes consumer inflation pressures would be mild this year, and that producer price increases would slow down.
His comments came amid escalating trade tensions between China and the U.S., which could push up inflation over the coming months, according to analysts.