China producer price inflation accelerated to a 13-year high in August on higher commodity prices, while consumer price inflation slowed unexpectedly, official data showed on Thursday.
Producer prices advanced 9.5 percent annually, following an increase of 9 percent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. The latest growth was the biggest since August 2008. Prices were forecast to climb again by 9 percent.
Month-on-month, producer prices grew 0.7 percent in August.
Consumer price inflation rose to 0.8 percent in August from 1 percent in July, the NBS said in a separate communiqué. The rate was forecast to remain unchanged at 1 percent.
The government targets consumer price inflation of around 3 percent for 2021.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.1 percent, much slower than the expected rate of 0.5 percent.
Core consumer price inflation, which strips out volatile items such as food and energy, eased marginally to 1.2 percent in August from 1.3 percent in July.
Food prices were down 4.1 percent, following a 3.7 percent decrease in the July. Non-food prices advanced 1.9 percent after increasing 2.1 percent in July.
The breakdown of producer prices suggests that upward pressure on the factory-gate prices of consumer goods is easing, Julian Evans-Pritchard and Sheana Yue, economists at Capital Economics, said. PPI inflation is likely to ease before long.
The economists noted that headline consumer price inflation should remain below 2 percent in the coming quarters and is unlikely to constrain the People’s Bank of China’s ability to loosen policy.
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