China inflation accelerated in August as consumer prices rose 0.8% from a year earlier and factory-gate prices increased 3.8%, official data showed. The figures point to firmer price pressure across both households and industrial supply chains.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported that the consumer price index increased 0.4% from July. Food prices fell 1.4% year over year, while nonfood prices rose 1.2%. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, was 1.0%.
Energy Costs Drive the China Inflation Pickup
Energy was a major contributor to the change. The statistics agency said energy prices increased 4.1% from a year earlier and added about 0.28 percentage point to the headline CPI rate. Gasoline prices rose 9.3% over the same period.
Price pressure was stronger further up the production chain. A separate official producer-price release showed the PPI rising 3.8% year over year and 0.4% from July. Producer-goods prices increased 5.0%, while consumer-goods prices declined 0.5%.
China inflation will now be assessed against the country’s growth outlook and the possibility that higher raw-material costs pass through to consumers. The August data show stronger nominal pricing momentum, but the decline in food prices and uneven consumer-goods readings indicate that the pressure is not uniform across the economy.
