The National Bureau of Statistics reported that China's consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% year-on-year in January. Excluding food and energy prices, the core CPI increased 0.8% compared to the same period last year. Dong Lijuan, chief statistician at the urban department of the National Bureau of Statistics, stated that the moderation in the CPI growth rate was primarily due to the timing of the Spring Festival and a larger decline in energy prices caused by fluctuations in international oil prices.
It is noteworthy that the statistics bureau released CPI and producer price index (PPI) data using 2025 as the new base period, marking the first release following the base period update. A relevant official indicated that the impact of this base period adjustment on the year-on-year CPI and PPI indices averaged approximately 0.06 and 0.08 percentage points, respectively, and was relatively minor overall.
The data showed that food prices fell 0.7% year-on-year, contributing to a decrease of about 0.11 percentage points in the CPI. Within the food category, fresh vegetable prices rose 6.9%, though the growth rate slowed by 11.3 percentage points month-on-month. Fresh fruit prices increased 3.2%, while pork and egg prices declined by 13.7% and 10.6%, respectively. Service prices edged up 0.1%, contributing about 0.05 percentage points to the CPI increase. Air ticket prices, travel agency fees, and home services charges dropped by 14.3%, 7.7%, and 3.5%, respectively.
However, consumer demand continues to recover, and the trend of moderate growth in core CPI remains unchanged. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% month-on-month, the highest increase in six months. Prices for data storage equipment and computers climbed 8% and 2.6%, respectively. Household appliances, daily necessities, and personal care products saw price increases ranging from 0.7% to 1.4%. Meanwhile, prices of industrial consumer goods excluding energy rose 2.6% year-on-year, with gold jewelry prices surging 77.4%.
Dong Lijuan noted that essential consumer goods were sufficiently supplied and prices remained stable ahead of the Spring Festival. Food prices remained flat month-on-month.
The producer price index (PPI) fell 1.4% year-on-year in January but increased 0.4% month-on-month, marking the fourth consecutive monthly rise. Industrial purchase prices dropped 1.4% year-on-year but rose 0.5% compared to the previous month. Dong attributed the monthly increase to factors such as the ongoing development of a unified national market, rising demand in certain sectors, and the transmission of international commodity prices.
Specifically, prices for cement manufacturing and lithium-ion battery manufacturing both increased 0.1% month-on-month, extending their gains for the fourth month. Prices for photovoltaic equipment and components turned from a 0.2% decline in the previous month to a 1.9% increase. The acceleration in digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and growing demand for computing power drove a 0.5% rise in prices for computer and communication equipment manufacturing. Pre-holiday demand for gifts and food contributed to price increases of 4.1% and 0.3% in handicrafts and agricultural product processing, respectively. Winter demand for warmth drove up prices for cold-weather clothing and down processing by 0.9% and 0.8%.
Additionally, rising international nonferrous metal prices pushed up domestic prices for nonferrous metal mining and processing by 5.7% and 5.2%, respectively. Fluctuations in international crude oil prices led to declines of 3.1% and 2.5% in domestic petroleum extraction and refined petroleum product manufacturing.
The base period update reflects new consumption trends. The adjustment aims to better capture changes in household consumption patterns and improve the representativeness of the price indices. The new classification includes categories such as home security devices, elderly care products, dishwashers, vehicle electricity, photography services, internet medical services, and medical beauty services, expanding coverage of new economic sectors.
Compared to the 2020 base period, the weighting structure of the CPI has seen minor overall changes. The weight of services has increased, while that of consumer goods has decreased, aligning with economic and social development trends. Weights for categories including food, tobacco, alcohol, dining out, transportation, communication, education, culture, entertainment, healthcare, and other services have risen, while weights for clothing, housing, and household goods and services have declined.
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