China consumer inflation slows for fourth straight month
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The news: China’s consumer inflation decelerated for a fourth consecutive month, despite government efforts to address deflation and inject stimulus into the economy, Bloomberg reported.
The numbers: The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.1% year on year, compared with a 0.2% gain in the previous month, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics.
Factory deflation extended into its 27th month, though the producer price index recorded a slower drop of 2.3%.
Core CPI, which excludes food and fuel prices, picked up for a third month to 0.4% from a year ago, reaching its highest level since July.
For the full year, consumer prices edged up 0.2% from 2023, short of the 1.1% gain economists had predicted at the beginning of 2024.
The context: China's continued deflationary pressures are in direct contrast with other major economies around the world, with US Federal Reserve officials raising fresh inflation concerns last month.
Last month, the Chinese government made boosting consumption and domestic demand the country's top priority for 2025. Authorities have pledged to use greater public borrowing and spending as well as monetary easing to spur growth this year. While it pledged stimulus for 2025 the government has not given any specifics.
The source: Bloomberg
