China's December Consumer Prices Rise 1.8%...Airfare and Fuel Prices Increase (Update)

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December last year rose 1.8% year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics of China announced on the 12th.

Although the increase was larger than the previous month (1.6%), it met market expectations (1.8%).

Looking at the items, food price inflation was relatively high at 4.8%. Among these, pork prices surged 22.2%, and overall meat prices rose 11.6%.

Non-food prices increased by only 1.1%, but specifically, airfares and gasoline and diesel prices rose sharply. Airfare prices surged 26.7%, while gasoline and diesel prices increased by 10.5% and 11.4%, respectively. This is interpreted as consumption increasing mainly in the dining and travel industries as Chinese quarantine authorities shifted to a 'With COVID' policy last month.

The annual consumer price inflation rate last year was 2.0%, below the Chinese authorities' target of 3%.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for December last year fell 0.7% year-on-year. Although it rose 4.1% for the entire year, the upward trend stopped toward the end of the year. The sluggishness of the Producer Price Index, which mainly tracks wholesale prices of manufactured goods, indicates that China's role as the 'world's factory' is diminishing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.