The cost of raw materials has not slowed down Chinese trade, which in August withstood contagions and the closure of ports, but pushes the increase in producer prices to the highest levels for 13 years now, recording a figure in August record: +9.5 in August. Consumer prices also rose by 0.8% compared to 1% in July. As is evident, the most serious problems remain those related to the functionality of the production chain and logistics. The prices of food products, for the moment, are in decline, but in a context of suffering for companies in accessing credit, the prospects for expected GDP are falling.
The “fork” between production and consumption
Inflation supported by Chinese firms in August remains high, at its highest level in 13 years. The Producer Price Index (PPI), which reflects the prices that factories charged to wholesalers, rose 9.5 percent in August over the same month a year earlier. Coal, steel, chemicals contributed to the negative performance.
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According to the National Institute of Statistics, this was the highest jump from 10.1% recorded in August 2008, well above the forecasts which gave a substantially stable figure. It is also the third highest reading since the database started in October 1996.
China’s official consumer price index (CPI), meanwhile, rose 0.8% in August from a year earlier, down slightly from 1% in July, and again a figure was expected. unchanged. On this front, China has set an annual increase of 3%, down from 3.5 last year. But the dynamics of the data on factories and consumption diverge.
The variable of food prices
If in August the costs of raw materials reached the highest level since August 2008, the epicenter of the global financial crisis, in the meantime the pressure on foodstuffs is eased, consumer price inflation falls below 1. percent.