Turning point in consumer prices

Beijing's consumer price index (CPI) transitioned from a monthly decline to a slight increase in July, while the year-on-year growth rate moderated, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics survey office in Beijing on August 10.

On a month-on-month basis, the city's CPI rose 0.2% in July, reversing a 0.4% drop recorded in the previous month. Food prices showed mixed trends: seasonal fruit supplies drove fresh fruit prices down by 4.0%, while pork prices fluctuated—rising initially and then falling—due to short-term adjustments in pig slaughtering, resulting in a 5.1% increase for the month. Frequent rainfall in major production areas boosted fresh vegetable prices by 0.9%.

Service prices climbed 0.8%, driven by a surge in summer tourism. Higher demand for travel-related services lifted the prices of vehicle rentals and airfares by 14.3% and 2.9%, respectively. Hotel accommodation and tour agency fees also rose, by 6.4% and 1.9%.

Year-on-year, Beijing's CPI increased by 0.2% in July, 0.5 percentage points slower than the previous month's growth. Among food items, prices for pork, fresh fruit, and fresh vegetables fell by 14.4%, 5.5%, and 3.9%, respectively. Egg prices rose 15.6%, a 1.3-percentage-point reduction from the prior month's pace.

In the non-food sector, industrial consumer goods prices rose 1.1% year-on-year, down 1.4 percentage points from the previous month. Gold jewelry and gasoline prices increased by 23.9% and 0.8%, respectively. Upstream raw material cost pressures and demand from emerging industries drove data storage equipment and computer prices up by 26.5% and 18.7%, respectively.

Factory gate prices weaken

Data also revealed that Beijing's producer price index (PPI) for manufactured goods fell 1.4% year-on-year and 0.8% month-on-month in July. Meanwhile, the purchasing price index for industrial producers rose 0.7% annually but declined 1.2% from the previous month.