Data from the Beijing Survey Office of the National Bureau of Statistics, released on August 10, shows that in July, Beijing's Consumer Price Index (CPI) moved from a monthly decline to a monthly gain, while the year-on-year increase moderated.

On a month-on-month basis, Beijing's CPI shifted from a 0.4% drop in June to a 0.2% increase in July. Within the food category, the ample availability of seasonal fruits drove down fresh fruit prices by 4.0%. Pork prices experienced an initial rise followed by a decline due to short-term adjustments in hog slaughter volumes, ultimately recording a 5.1% increase for the month. Increased rainfall in some major production areas contributed to a 0.9% rise in fresh vegetable prices.

Service prices rose by 0.8%. The summer holiday season boosted tourist numbers and demand for travel-related services, leading to price increases of 14.3% for vehicle rentals and 2.9% for airfares. Prices for hotel accommodation and package tour fees rose by 6.4% and 1.9%, respectively.

On a year-on-year basis, Beijing's CPI rose by 0.2% in July, a 0.5 percentage point slowdown compared to the previous month. Within the food category, prices for pork, fresh fruit, and fresh vegetables fell by 14.4%, 5.5%, and 3.9%, respectively. Egg prices increased by 15.6%, though this was 1.3 percentage points lower than the previous month's rate.

For non-food items, industrial consumer goods prices rose by 1.1% year-on-year, a 1.4 percentage point moderation from the prior month. Within this category, gold jewelry and gasoline prices increased by 23.9% and 0.8%, respectively. Driven by upstream raw material cost pressures and demand from emerging industries, prices for data storage devices and computers jumped by 26.5% and 18.7%.

The data also revealed that in July, Beijing's Producer Price Index (PPI) for manufactured goods fell by 1.4% year-on-year and 0.8% month-on-month. The Purchasing Price Index for industrial producers rose by 0.7% year-on-year but fell by 1.2% month-on-month.