China's CPI edges up 0.5% year on year in July

(ECNS) -- China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.5% year on year in July, down 0.5 percentage points from June, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday.

Gasoline prices went up 1.0% year-on-year in July, a 16 percentage-point drop in growth from June. Its contribution to CPI growth fell by roughly 0.45 percentage points. Energy prices edged up 0.6%. Prices of industrial consumer goods increased 1.5% year-on-year, slipping 0.2 percentage points from the prior month.

Service prices increased 0.7% year on year, led by domestic services, catering and education, which rose 1.3%, 1% and 0.6% respectively. Food prices fell 1.5%, narrowing the decline slightly.

On a monthly basis, CPI dropped 0.1% in July, with gasoline down 10.7% and food prices below seasonal levels. Service prices rose 0.4%. Prices of tablet computers, computers and mobile phones jumped 11.3%, 5.5% and 1% respectively.

China’s core CPI, excluding food and energy prices, registered a 0.9% year-on-year increase and a 0.3% month-on-month rise in July. The sustained moderate growth of core CPI indicates that China’s consumption structure is shifting from food and energy driven growth toward services and experiences.

(By Helen Mo, intern Xu Wenda)