China’s Consumer Inflation Picks Up But Demand Concerns Persist
- Bad weather, not rising demand, was main reason for CPI beat
- Core CPI rose least since January in gloomy sign for economy
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China’s consumer prices rose more than expected in July, largely due to seasonal factors like weather, leaving intact concern over sluggish domestic demand and boosting the case for more policy support.
The consumer price index climbed 0.5% from a year earlier, exceeding the 0.3% estimate in a Bloomberg survey, data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday show. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, core CPI rose 0.4%, the least since January, indicating lingering weakness in overall demand.