China’s consumer prices were unchanged last month from a year ago and producer deflation persisted, suggesting that demand remains weak in the world’s second-largest economy amid trade turbulence.
The reading beat market expectations, as a poll by financial provider Wind had forecast a 0.12 per cent decline for July. In June, the CPI rose by 0.1 per cent, year on year after four straight months of decline.
“Policies to expand domestic demand showed results in July, resulting in a 0.4 per cent rise in CPI from June,” said Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician at the bureau.
In July, consumer goods prices declined by 0.4 per cent from a year earlier, while service prices rose by 0.5 per cent, according to the statistics bureau. Food prices fell by 1.6 per cent.
Prices for other goods and services as well as clothing increased by 8 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively, while housing saw a rise of 0.1 per cent.
