In April, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.3% month-on-month and 1.2% year-on-year, reflecting a moderate rise. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, also rose by 1.2% year-on-year. The Industrial Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 1.7% month-on-month and 2.8% year-on-year, with the growth rates expanding compared to the previous month.
1. CPI Shows Moderate Recovery On a month-on-month basis, the national CPI turned from a 0.7% decline in the previous month to a 0.3% increase, which was 0.4 percentage points higher than the seasonal level. This was mainly driven by rising energy and travel service prices. Influenced by fluctuations in international crude oil prices, domestic energy prices rose by 5.7%, an increase of 0.9 percentage points from the previous month, contributing approximately 0.39 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI increase. Among these, gasoline prices increased by 12.6%. Service prices shifted from a 1.1% decline in the previous month to a 0.5% increase, 0.2 percentage points higher than the seasonal level, contributing approximately 0.22 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI increase. Driven by increased demand during the Qingming Festival holiday, the May Day holiday, and spring breaks in some regions, prices for air tickets, vehicle rentals, travel agency fees, and hotel accommodations rose by 29.2%, 8.6%, 4.5%, and 3.9%, respectively. These four items collectively contributed approximately 0.17 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI increase. Medical service prices increased by 0.6%, contributing approximately 0.04 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI increase. Food prices declined by 1.6%, with the decrease narrowing by 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, contributing approximately 0.28 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI decline. Among food items, as the weather warmed up, fresh vegetables and fruits became more abundant, leading to price declines of 6.4% and 2.3%, respectively. Pork and aquatic products remained in ample supply, with prices falling by 5.7% and 1.2%, respectively. These four items collectively contributed approximately 0.28 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI decline. Egg prices increased by 3.4%, contributing approximately 0.01 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI increase. Industrial consumer goods prices, excluding energy, declined by 0.2%, remaining relatively stable.
On a year-on-year basis, the national CPI increased by 1.2%, with the growth rate expanding by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. Industrial consumer goods prices rose by 3.5%, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the previous month, contributing approximately 1.06 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Among industrial consumer goods, influenced by fluctuations in international commodity prices, domestic gasoline and gold jewelry prices saw significant changes. Gasoline prices increased by 19.3%, contributing approximately 0.56 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Gold jewelry prices rose by 46.9%, contributing approximately 0.20 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Prices for household appliances and clothing increased by 2.6% and 1.6%, respectively, collectively contributing approximately 0.11 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Service prices increased by 0.9%, with the growth rate expanding by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, contributing approximately 0.44 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Among services, prices for basic public service items remained relatively stable. Medical service prices and education service prices increased by 3.4% and 0.5%, respectively, collectively contributing approximately 0.25 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Travel service prices rose by 3.7%, contributing approximately 0.13 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Labor service prices saw modest increases, with prices for pet services, dining out, household services, and vehicle repair and maintenance rising between 1.1% and 1.4%, collectively contributing approximately 0.10 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Food prices shifted from a 0.3% increase in the previous month to a 1.6% decline. Among food items, pork prices fell by 15.2%, with the decline expanding by 3.7 percentage points from the previous month, contributing approximately 0.29 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI decline. Fresh vegetable and fruit prices declined by 0.5% and 1.0%, respectively. Prices for beef, lamb, aquatic products, and eggs increased, with growth rates ranging between 1.0% and 6.2%.
2. PPI Growth Accelerates On a month-on-month basis, the national PPI increased by 1.7%, with the growth rate expanding by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month. The main characteristics of the month-on-month PPI movement in April are as follows: First, international input factors influenced price increases in domestic petroleum-related industries. Rising international crude oil prices drove up prices in domestic petroleum-related industries. Among these, prices in the oil and gas extraction industry increased by 18.5% month-on-month, while prices in the petroleum, coal, and other fuel processing industry rose by 16.4%. Prices in the chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry increased by 8.3%, while prices in the chemical fiber manufacturing industry rose by 5.6%. Prices in the rubber and plastic products industry increased by 1.7%. Second, increased demand in some domestic industries drove price increases. Rapid growth in computing demand and the acceleration of the electrification process led to a 22.5% month-on-month increase in optical fiber manufacturing prices. Prices for external storage devices and components rose by 3.2%, while prices in the non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry increased by 0.2%. Demand for coal replenishment in power generation was released, coupled with increased demand for non-power coal in industries such as chemicals and metallurgy, leading to a 1.9% increase in prices in the coal mining and washing industry. The ongoing renewal of manufacturing equipment drove up steel demand, resulting in a 0.6% increase in prices in the ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry. Third, continuous optimization of domestic market competition led to price increases or narrowing declines in related industries. Efforts to curb "cutthroat competition" continued to show results, with prices in the lithium-ion battery manufacturing industry increasing by 1.6% month-on-month. Prices for new energy vehicle manufacturing declined by 0.1%, with the decrease narrowing by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.
On a year-on-year basis, the national PPI increased by 2.8%, with the growth rate expanding by 2.3 percentage points from the previous month. Among the major industries with price increases, the non-ferrous metal mining and dressing industry rose by 38.9%, while the non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry increased by 22.5%. These two industries collectively contributed approximately 1.58 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI increase. The oil and gas extraction industry rose by 28.6%, the petroleum, coal, and other fuel processing industry increased by 14.2%, and the chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry rose by 8.9%. These three industries collectively contributed approximately 1.50 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI increase. The electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry increased by 3.6%, while the computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing industry rose by 1.5%. These two industries collectively contributed approximately 0.46 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI increase. Among the major industries with price declines, the non-metallic mineral products industry fell by 5.5%, the production and supply of electricity and heat industry declined by 4.2%, the automobile manufacturing industry decreased by 2.0%, and the ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry declined by 1.1%. These four industries collectively contributed approximately 0.75 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI decline.
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