China’s consumer inflation rose to the highest level in two years, driven by soaring pork prices, official data showed Wednesday. The consumer price index rose 2.7% from a year earlier in July, up from a 2.5% increase in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
The reading, which marked the highest level since July 2020, when the index also reached 2.7%, undershot the 2.9% growth expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. China’s food prices rose 6.3% on year, accelerating from June’s 2.9%. Pork prices reversed a 6.0% year-on-year decline in June–rising 20% in July, the data showed. Non-food inflation eased, rising 1.9% from July 2021, compared with a 2.5% increase in June. China’s core consumer inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, grew 0.8% on year in July, down from June’s 1% increase. In the first seven months of the year, China’s CPI increased 1.8% and remained well below Beijing’s target cap for the index around 3% for 2022. China’s producer price index, a gauge of factory-gate prices, rose 4.2% on year in July, down from June’s 6.1% increase and lower than the 4.5% growth expected by surveyed economists.
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