China’s official consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.5% in March, up from 0.9% the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The figure was higher than analysts’ expectations, who had expected a 1.2% increase.
Food prices are expected to have fallen 1.5% year-on-year, while non-food prices rose 2.2%.
This means that the official consumer price index is still below the target set by the Chinese government, which has issued an inflation target of 3%.
The official producer price index (PPI) rose by 8.3% year on year in March. In February, the PPI had still risen by 8.8%. The 8.3% increase is higher than analysts’ expectations, which had expected an increase of 7.9%.
High energy prices for oil and gas are said to be the main cause of the increase. However, prices for electronic goods continue to decline, indicating that supply chains have not been disrupted too much despite various lockdowns in China.