In April, influenced by fluctuations in international crude oil prices and increased holiday travel demand, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.3% month-on-month and 1.2% year-on-year. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased by 1.2% year-on-year, maintaining a moderate recovery trend. Driven by factors including the rapid rise in international commodity prices, increased demand in certain domestic sectors, and the continuous optimization of market competition order, the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 1.7% month-on-month and 2.8% year-on-year, with the growth rates expanding compared to the previous month.
I. CPI Shows Moderate Recovery On a month-on-month basis, the national CPI shifted 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 primarily influenced by rising energy and travel service prices. Affected by international crude oil price volatility, domestic energy prices increased by 5.7%, with the growth rate expanding by 0.9 percentage points from the previous month, contributing approximately 0.39 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI increase. Specifically, gasoline prices rose by 12.6%. Service prices shifted from a 1.1% decline in the previous month to a 0.5% increase, which was 0.2 percentage points higher than the seasonal level, contributing approximately 0.22 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI increase. Notably, due to the Qingming Festival holiday, the May Day holiday, and spring breaks in some regions, demand for travel services increased significantly. Prices for air tickets, vehicle rentals, travel agency fees, and hotel accommodations rose by 29.2%, 8.6%, 4.5%, and 3.9%, respectively, all exceeding seasonal levels. These four items collectively contributed approximately 0.17 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI increase. Medical service prices rose by 0.6%, contributing approximately 0.04 percentage points. Food prices fell by 1.6%, with the decline narrowing by 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, contributing approximately 0.28 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI decrease. Within the food category, as the weather warmed, fresh vegetables and fruits entered the market in large volumes, with prices falling by 6.4% and 2.3%, respectively. Pork and aquatic products were 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 decrease. Egg prices rose by 3.4%, contributing approximately 0.01 percentage points to the increase. Prices for industrial consumer goods excluding energy fell by 0.2%, remaining largely stable.
On a year-on-year basis, the national CPI rose by 1.2%, with the growth rate expanding by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. Industrial consumer goods prices increased by 3.5%, with the growth rate expanding by 1.3 percentage points, contributing approximately 1.06 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Among industrial consumer goods, influenced by international commodity price fluctuations, domestic gasoline and gold jewelry prices showed significant changes. Gasoline price increases expanded to 19.3%, contributing approximately 0.56 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Gold jewelry price increases moderated to 46.9%, contributing approximately 0.20 percentage points. Prices for household appliances and clothing rose by 2.6% and 1.6%, respectively, collectively contributing approximately 0.11 percentage points. Service prices rose by 0.9%, with the growth rate expanding by 0.1 percentage points, contributing approximately 0.44 percentage points. Within services, prices for basic public service items remained generally stable. Medical service and education service prices rose by 3.4% and 0.5%, respectively, collectively contributing approximately 0.25 percentage points. Travel service price increases expanded, rising by 3.7% this month and contributing approximately 0.13 percentage points. Prices for labor services saw slight increases, with pet services, dining out, domestic services, and vehicle repair and maintenance prices rising between 1.1% and 1.4%. These four items collectively contributed approximately 0.10 percentage points. Food prices shifted from a 0.3% increase in the previous month to a 1.6% decrease. Within the food category, pork prices fell by 15.2%, with the decline expanding by 3.7 percentage points, contributing approximately 0.29 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI decrease. Fresh vegetable and fruit prices fell by 0.5% and 1.0%, respectively. Prices for beef, mutton, aquatic products, and eggs all increased, with gains ranging between 1.0% and 6.2%.
II. PPI Growth Rate Expands On a month-on-month basis, the national PPI rose by 1.7%, with the growth rate expanding by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month. The main characteristics of the PPI's month-on-month performance this month were: First, international input factors drove up prices in domestic petroleum-related industries. Rising international crude oil prices led to price increases in related domestic industries. Specifically, prices for the extraction of petroleum and natural gas rose by 18.5% month-on-month; prices for the processing of petroleum, coal, and other fuels rose by 16.4%; prices for the manufacture of raw chemical materials and chemical products rose by 8.3%; prices for the manufacture of chemical fibers rose by 5.6%; and prices for the manufacture of rubber and plastic products rose by 1.7%. Second, increased demand in certain domestic sectors drove prices upward. Rapid growth in computing power demand and the acceleration of electrification led to a 22.5% month-on-month increase in optical fiber manufacturing prices, a 3.2% increase in external storage equipment and component prices, and a 0.2% increase in prices for the smelting and pressing of non-ferrous metals. The release of demand for thermal coal inventory replenishment, coupled with increased demand for non-power coal in chemical and metallurgical industries, pushed prices for coal mining and washing up by 1.9%. The ongoing renewal of manufacturing equipment drove increased steel demand, leading to a 0.6% increase in prices for the smelting and pressing of ferrous metals. Third, the continuous optimization of domestic market competition order led to price increases or narrower declines in related industries. The effects of deepening efforts to curb "involution-style" competition continued to show, with prices for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries rising by 1.6% month-on-month, while prices for the manufacture of new energy vehicles fell by 0.1%, with the decline narrowing by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.
On a year-on-year basis, the national PPI rose by 2.8%, with the growth rate expanding by 2.3 percentage points from the previous month. Among the main industries with price increases, the mining and processing of non-ferrous metal ores rose by 38.9%, and the smelting and pressing of non-ferrous metals rose by 22.5%, collectively contributing approximately 1.58 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI increase. The extraction of petroleum and natural gas rose by 28.6%, the processing of petroleum, coal, and other fuels rose by 14.2%, and the manufacture of raw chemical materials and chemical products rose by 8.9%, collectively contributing approximately 1.50 percentage points. The manufacture of electrical machinery and equipment rose by 3.6%, and the manufacture of computers, communication, and other electronic equipment rose by 1.5%, collectively contributing approximately 0.46 percentage points. Among the main industries with price declines, the manufacture of non-metallic mineral products fell by 5.5%, the production and supply of electric power and heat power fell by 4.2%, the manufacture of automobiles fell by 2.0%, and the smelting and pressing of ferrous metals fell by 1.1%, collectively contributing approximately 0.75 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI decrease.
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