China consumer prices up 1.9 pct in June

Residents in Fuyang, Anhui province, buy vegetables at a market on July 9, 2015.[Photo/China Daily]

BEIJING - China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 1.9 percent year on year in June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Sunday.

The June data slowed from a 2-percent growth registered in May and dropped for the second consecutive month from 2.3 percent in April, when the CPI reached the highest level since July 2014.

The CPI grew 2.1 percent in the first half of 2016, while the annual target was set around 3 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, the CPI declined 0.1 percent in June.

NBS statistician Yu Qiumei attributed the moderated inflation mostly to eased food prices.

Food, cigarette and liquor prices increased 3.7 percent year on year in June, slowing from 4.7 percent in May.

Since January, CPI has been calculated using a new comparison base and included more products and services and slightly reduced the weight of food.

China producer prices down 2.6 pct in June

BEIJING - China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, slid 2.6 percent year on year in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday.

The PPI decline narrowed from a 2.8-percent decrease in May, with industrial product prices slightly rebounding consecutively in the past six months on an annual basis.

However, the June reading marked the 52nd straight month of decline as China's economic slowdown and industrial overcapacity weighed on prices.

The PPI dropped 3.9 percent year on year in the first half of 2016.

On a month-on-month basis, June's PPI edged down 0.2 percent.

Although the condition of commodity prices continued to improve, industrial product prices are unlikely to recover substantially as domestic demand remained weak, said HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbin.

He called for measures to restore business confidence as deflation risks are still there.

The PPI figures came along with the release of the consumer price index, which rose 1.9 percent year on year in June, slowing from 2 percent in May.