Based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics for August 2026, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rebounded moderately while Producer Price Index (PPI) growth accelerated. According to the interpretation by Dong Lijuan, Chief Statistician at the NBS Urban Department, the CPI reversed from a 0.1% month-on-month decline in July to a 0.4% increase in August, with the year-on-year rise climbing back to 0.8%. Core CPI, excluding food and energy prices, saw its year-on-year growth rebound to 1.0%. Meanwhile, the PPI swung from a 0.7% month-on-month decrease to a 0.4% increase, and its year-on-year growth expanded to 3.8%.

CPI Shifts to Month-on-Month Growth, Year-on-Year Increase Moderates

On a month-on-month basis, the national CPI turned from a 0.1% slide to a 0.4% uptick. Domestic gasoline prices rebounded sharply from a 10.7% decline to a 7.2% rise, contributing approximately 0.21 percentage points to the monthly CPI change. Gold jewelry prices also reversed course, climbing 7.6% after a 2.6% fall, which added about 0.04 percentage points. Driven by surging demand for computing power, prices for mobile phones, tablet computers, and data storage devices rose by 2.3%, 2.1%, and 2.1% respectively, collectively raising CPI by roughly 0.03 percentage points. Food prices edged up 0.4% month-on-month after holding steady, contributing about 0.07 percentage points. Fresh vegetable prices increased 5.5% due to hot, rainy weather and seasonal crop transitions, expanding the gain by 4.2 percentage points from the prior month. Egg prices flipped from a 2.1% drop to a 2.4% rise on reduced summer poultry production, while pork prices inched up 1.3%. These three categories together added nearly 0.12 percentage points to monthly CPI. Conversely, ample seasonal fruit supply pushed fresh fruit prices down 2.5%, and the end of fishing moratoriums in some sea areas lowered aquatic product prices by 0.9%, together subtracting about 0.07 percentage points. Service prices rose 0.1%, slowing by 0.3 percentage points from the prior month, contributing 0.04 percentage points. During the summer holiday, travel-related service costs continued to climb, with vehicle rental, airfares, and hotel accommodation prices increasing by 3.3%, 3.0%, and 1.0% respectively.

Year-on-year, the national CPI climbed 0.8%, widening by 0.3 percentage points, mainly due to energy price gains. Energy costs accelerated from 0.6% to 4.1% year-on-year, driving CPI up by about 0.28 percentage points, an addition of roughly 0.24 percentage points compared with the previous month. Gasoline prices surged 9.3%, with the increase expanding by 8.3 percentage points. Excluding energy, industrial consumer goods rose 1.8%, up 0.3 percentage points, lifting CPI by approximately 0.42 percentage points. Notably, gold jewelry prices soared 33.6%, expanding by 9.0 percentage points, while tablet, computer, and mobile phone prices increased 21.5%, 19.6%, and 11.0% respectively. Services rose 0.8% year-on-year, expanding by 0.1 percentage points, which added about 0.38 percentage points to CPI. Travel service prices jumped 1.3%, a 1.2 percentage point acceleration, whereas medical service costs rose 4.0%, slowing by 0.3 percentage points. Food prices declined 1.4% year-on-year, narrowing the drop by 0.1 percentage points, which pulled CPI down by about 0.24 percentage points. Pork prices fell 11.8%, with the decline narrowing by 1.5 percentage points, reducing CPI by 0.22 percentage points. Prices for fresh vegetables, fruit, grain, edible oils, aquatic products, and dairy dropped between 0.5% and 2.8%, together reducing CPI by 0.10 percentage points. Meanwhile, egg prices climbed 18.5%, adding 0.07 percentage points, and lamb, beef, and poultry meat prices rose between 1.1% and 6.3%, contributing a further 0.07 percentage points.

PPI Switches to Monthly Increase, YoY Growth Broadens

On a month-on-month basis, the national PPI moved from a 0.7% decline to a 0.4% rise, characterized by several key factors. Imported cost pressures drove domestic price increases, as international crude oil and non-ferrous metal prices pushed up related sectors. Petroleum extraction, refined petroleum product manufacturing, and organic chemical raw material manufacturing saw price gains of 10.4%, 4.1%, and 0.9% respectively, while non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling posted a 0.8% rise. These four industries together contributed roughly 0.31 percentage points to the monthly PPI increase. Industrial transformation and upgrading bolstered demand and prices in certain sectors, with new drivers accelerating development. Electronic circuit manufacturing prices rose 3.5%, virtual reality equipment manufacturing gained 1.9%, and service consumer robot manufacturing edged up 0.3%. Biomass fuel processing and waste resource utilization industries each advanced 0.3%. Seasonal patterns also played a role: rising August demand for electricity and coal lifted coal mining and washing prices by 2.8% and power supply prices by 1.4%. Conversely, hot, rainy weather hampered construction activity, leading to price declines of 0.9% for ferrous metal smelting and rolling and 0.2% for non-metallic mineral products.

Year-on-year, the national PPI expanded by 3.8%, widening by 0.3 percentage points. Among major industries, coal mining and washing surged 26.6%, non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling jumped 20.8%, and oil and gas extraction, petroleum, coal, and other fuel processing, and chemical raw material and product manufacturing rose 10.5%, 11.1%, and 9.1% respectively. Electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing climbed 5.9%, and computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing rose 5.3%. These seven sectors collectively contributed around 4.24 percentage points to the PPI increase, adding 0.37 percentage points more than the prior month. On the downside, the six largest drags on prices included electricity and heat production and supply, automobile manufacturing, non-metallic mineral products, pharmaceutical manufacturing, alcohol and beverage and refined tea manufacturing, and agricultural and sideline food processing, with declines ranging from 1.7% to 5.3%. Together, these reduced PPI by approximately 0.74 percentage points year-on-year.