Food prices drive up headline CPI figure

China's consumer inflation eased last month on ramped-up measures to ensure supplies and stabilize prices, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

The Consumer Price Index, a main gauge of inflation, increased 4.3 percent year on year, moderating from 5.2 percent in February.

For the first quarter, the headline CPI rose 4.9 percent year on year.

The upturn of the headline CPI figure was mainly driven by food prices, which advanced 18.3 percent in March year on year. But the growth slowed from February’s 21.9 percent pace.

Pork prices started to soften, with growth down 18.8 percentage points. However, compared with the same period last year, hog prices were still 116.4 percent higher.

Dong Lijuan, the bureau's senior statistician, said: “Pork supply was rising as government measures at national and local levels to restore hog production started to take effect.”

Beef, mutton, chicken and duck grew within a range of 10.7-21.7 percent on an annual basis.

Prices for fresh vegetables and fruit dropped 0.1 percent and 6.1 percent year on year, respectively, due to increased production, storage in spring and falling transport costs.

In non-food categories, prices for health care, education, culture and entertainment sector rose by 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

Transport and communication prices fell 3.8 percent year on year in March, as people cut down travel during the pandemic and transport-related fuel price plunged.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, grew 1.2 percent from a year earlier in March, expanding 0.2 percentage points from February,

The CPI in rural areas grew faster than in the urban area, with the former increasing by 5.3 percent and the latter up by 4.0 percent. “For rural consumers, food costs, which weigh about a third in China’s CPI, account for more in overall consumption,” Dong said.

Also released on Friday, China's Producer Price Index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate and is seen as a key indicator of corporate profitability, fell 1.5 percent year on year in March, compared with February's 0.4 percent drop.

For the first quarter of 2020, the PPI was down 0.6 percent.