China's producer prices down 0.4 pct in February

09:41, March 10, 2020

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  China's CPI up 5.2 pct in February

  Consumers buy vegetables at a market in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Fangping/For China Daily]EIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinas consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, grew 5.2 percent year on year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Tuesday.The reading, in line with market expectations, eased slightly from the 5.4-percent gain in January. On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.8 percent.Food prices, which account for nearly one-third of weighting in Chinas CPI, went up 21.9 percent year on year last month, contributing 4.45 percentage points to the index rise as the novel coronavirus outbreak disrupted market supplies and demands.Restrictions on flows of transport and people, as well as business closures during the period have affected food supplies, while rising demands among stay-at-home residents to hoard foods combined to push up prices, NBS official Zhao Maohong said.In the first two months, CPI went up 5.3 percent year on year on average, up 3.7 percentage points from the same period last year.Tuesdays data also showed Chinas producer price index (PPI), which measures inflation at the factory gates, fell 0.4 percent year on year last month.

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  China's consumer inflation expected to edge down in February

  BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinas consumer price index (CPI) growth is expected at 5 percent in February, narrowing from 5.4 percent in January, economists forecast.File photo: CGTNThe weak demand for non-food categories, including catering, transportation and tourism, affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak, may drag down the CPI growth in February, Zhang Jun, a senior analyst at Morgan Stanley Huaxin Securities, told Securities Daily.But the room for the CPI to fall is limited as the prices of pork and vegetables rose in February from January, according to Zhang.Meanwhile, the decline in the prices of refined oil products will also lead to the drop of CPI growth in February despite rising food prices, Lu Zhengwei, chief economist at Industrial Bank, was quoted as saying.Chinas CPI, a main gauge of inflation, rose 5.4 percent year on year in January, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The increase was up from 4.5 percent for December.

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  China's rare earth price index slightly down

  BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The China Rare Earth Price Index shrank 0.27 percent from the previous working day to 1,133.42 points Monday.Compiled by the China Economic Information Service and Baotou Rare Earth Products Exchange, the index reflects the overall price trend in the rare earth market.The index is a part of Chinas rare earth serial indices, which also include a prosperity index and a development index.(Photo: VCG)