In April, influenced by fluctuations in international crude oil prices and increased holiday travel demand, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.3% month-on-month and 1.2% year-on-year. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 1.2% year-on-year, indicating a continued moderate recovery. Driven by the rapid rise in international commodity prices, increased demand in certain domestic sectors, and the ongoing optimization of market competition, the Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 1.7% month-on-month and 2.8% year-on-year, with both growth rates expanding compared to the previous month.
I. 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, 0.4 percentage points higher than the seasonal average, primarily due to rising energy and travel service prices. Affected by international crude oil price volatility, domestic energy prices increased by 5.7%, a 0.9 percentage point acceleration 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, 0.2 percentage points above the seasonal average, contributing about 0.22 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI increase. Notably, due to the Qingming Festival, Labor Day holiday, and spring breaks in some regions, demand for travel services surged significantly. Prices for air tickets, vehicle rentals, travel agency fees, and hotel accommodations increased 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 about 0.04 percentage points. Food prices fell by 1.6%, with the decline narrowing by 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, contributing about 0.28 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI decrease. Among food items, as the weather warmed, fresh vegetables and fruits became abundant in the market, leading to price declines of 6.4% and 2.3%, respectively. Ample supplies of pork and aquatic products resulted in price decreases of 5.7% and 1.2%, respectively. These four items collectively contributed about 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 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% this month, accelerating by 1.3 percentage points, contributing about 1.06 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Among industrial goods, influenced by international commodity price fluctuations, domestic gasoline and gold jewelry prices showed significant changes. Gasoline price growth accelerated to 19.3%, contributing approximately 0.56 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase. Gold jewelry price growth moderated to 46.9%, contributing about 0.20 percentage points. Prices for household appliances and clothing increased by 2.6% and 1.6%, respectively, together contributing about 0.11 percentage points. Service prices increased by 0.9%, with the growth rate expanding by 0.1 percentage point, contributing about 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, together contributing about 0.25 percentage points. Travel service price growth expanded, increasing by 3.7% this month and contributing about 0.13 percentage points. Prices for labor-intensive services saw slight increases, with pet services, dining out, household services, and vehicle repair and maintenance prices rising between 1.1% and 1.4%. These four items collectively contributed about 0.10 percentage points. Food prices shifted from a 0.3% increase in the previous month to a 1.6% decrease. Among food items, pork prices fell by 15.2%, with the decline widening by 3.7 percentage points, contributing about 0.29 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI decrease. Fresh vegetable and fruit prices decreased by 0.5% and 1.0%, respectively. Prices for beef, mutton, aquatic products, and eggs all increased, with growth rates ranging from 1.0% to 6.2%.
II. 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 this month's PPI movement are: First, international input factors drove up prices in domestic petroleum-related industries. Rising international crude oil prices led to price increases in related domestic sectors. Specifically, prices in the extraction of petroleum and natural gas increased by 18.5% month-on-month; processing of petroleum, coal, and other fuels rose by 16.4%; manufacture of raw chemical materials and chemical products increased by 8.3%; manufacture of chemical fibers rose by 5.6%; and manufacture of rubber and plastics products increased by 1.7%. Second, increased demand in certain domestic sectors contributed to price increases. 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% rise in external storage equipment and components, and a 0.2% increase in smelting and pressing of non-ferrous metals. The release of demand for coal inventory replenishment in the power sector, coupled with increased non-power coal demand from chemical and metallurgical industries, drove a 1.9% increase in coal mining and washing prices. Ongoing equipment renewal in manufacturing boosted steel demand, leading to a 0.6% increase in smelting and pressing of ferrous metals. Third, the continuous optimization of domestic market competition has led to price increases or narrowed declines in related sectors. Continued efforts to curb cut-throat competition have shown results, with lithium-ion battery manufacturing prices rising by 1.6% month-on-month, and new energy vehicle manufacturing prices falling by 0.1%, a 0.7 percentage point narrowing of the decline 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 main industries with price increases, mining and washing of non-ferrous metal ores rose by 38.9%, and smelting and pressing of non-ferrous metals increased by 22.5%, together contributing about 1.58 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI increase. Extraction of petroleum and natural gas rose by 28.6%, processing of petroleum, coal, and other fuels increased by 14.2%, and manufacture of raw chemical materials and chemical products rose by 8.9%, together contributing about 1.50 percentage points. Manufacture of electrical machinery and equipment increased by 3.6%, and manufacture of computers, communication, and other electronic equipment rose by 1.5%, together contributing about 0.46 percentage points. Among the main industries with price declines, manufacture of non-metallic mineral products fell by 5.5%, production and supply of electric power and heat power decreased by 4.2%, manufacture of automobiles declined by 2.0%, and smelting and pressing of ferrous metals fell by 1.1%, together contributing about 0.75 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI decrease.
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