September 9, 2013
Translated by Pang Lei

China's consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.6 percent year-on-year in August, one tenth of a percentage point slower than the 2.7 percent registered in June and July. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the inflation data earlier this morning.

According to the NBS, prices grew by 2.5 percent in urban areas and 2.9 percent in rural areas. Food prices rose 4.7 percent, a little slower than the 5 percent expansion in July, contributing 1.54 percentage points to the overall increase in CPI.

Non-food prices increased by 1.5 percent, also about the same pace of growth registered last month.

The price of consumer goods rose by 2.5 percent and the price of services grew by 2.7 percent.

The NBS also said that China's CPI grew by 2.5 percent over the first eight months of 2013 when compared to the same period last year.

In March 2013, in an address to the National People's Congress (NPC), former premier Wen Jiabao said that the central government expected the CPI to rise by about 3.5 percent over the course of 2013.

On average over the course of 2012, overall consumer prices were up by 2.6 percent when compared to 2011, well below the target of 4 percent growth set by Premier Wen Jiabao during his annual work report to the National People's Congress in March last year.

China's CPI averaged growth of 5.4 percent in 2011.

The NBS reported that prices of fresh vegetables rose by 5.2 percent in August moderating significantly after rising by almost 12 percent in July.

The price of meat, poultry and related products rose by 7.2 percent, picking up on the almost 6 percent growth registered last month. Pork prices also continued to rise on a year-on-year basis, up 6 percent year-on-year last month compared to 1.7 perecent year-on-year growth in July.

According to the NBS, housing-related prices were up by 2.6 percent year-on-year in August, with rental costs up 4.4 percent, the same pace of year-on-year growth registered last month.

The producer price index (PPI), another measure of inflation at the wholesale level, fell 1.6 percent in August when compared to the same month in 2012. This marked the 18th consecutive month that the PPI reading has been negative.

Over the eight months of 2013, the PPI fell by 2.2 percent when compared to the same period of 2012.

Links and Sources
National Bureau of Statistics: 2013年8月份居民消费价格变动情况
National Bureau of Statistics: 2013年8月份工业生产者价格变动情况
National Bureau of Statistics: 国家统计局城市司高级统计师余秋梅解读2013年8月份CPI、PPI数据