Latest news with #producerprices
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
China's July factory-gate prices miss forecast, deflation concerns persist
BEIJING, Aug 9 (Reuters) - China's producer prices fell more than expected in July, while consumer prices were unchanged, underscoring the impact of sluggish domestic demand and persistent trade uncertainty on consumer and business sentiment. Factory-gate prices have been declining for more than two years, and Saturday's data suggest early-stage efforts to tackle price competition have yet to yield significant results. Deflationary pressures have prompted Chinese authorities to address overcapacity in key industries. However, the latest round of industrial restructuring appears to be a pared-down version of the sweeping supply-side reforms launched a decade ago that were pivotal in ending a deflationary spiral. The producer price index (PPI) fell 3.6% year on year in July, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Saturday, missing economists' forecast of a 3.3% slide and matching the near 2-year low recorded in June. Extreme weather and global trade uncertainties contributed to price declines in some industries, Dong Lijuan, NBS chief statistician, said in a statement. However, on a month-on-month basis, PPI shrank 0.2%, improving from June's 0.4% drop. Despite the headline figures, some analysts see signs of easing deflationary pressure. Xing Zhaopeng, senior China strategist at ANZ, pointed to improvements in month-on-month PPI and year-on-year core CPI. He expects the current "anti-involution" policy measures - aimed at curbing disorderly competition in sectors like autos -to begin lifting year-on-year PPI from August. Still, other analysts remain cautious, noting that without demand-side stimulus or reforms to improve people's welfare, the measures may have limited impact on final demand. A prolonged housing downturn and fragile trade relations with the U.S. also continue to weigh on consumer spending and factory activity. China's consumer price index (CPI) was flat year-on-year in July, compared with a 0.1% rise in June, NBS data showed, beating a Reuters poll forecast of a 0.1% slide. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, was 0.8% in July from a year earlier, the highest in 17 months. Food prices fell 1.6%, following a 0.3% decline in June. Extreme weather added to the economic strain, with sweltering heat gripping much of China's eastern seaboard last month and heavier-than-usual downpours lashing the country with the East Asian monsoon stalling over its north and south. On a monthly basis, the CPI edged up 0.4%, against a 0.1% drop in June and exceeding forecasts for a 0.3% rise. "Nonetheless it is still unclear if this is the end of deflation in China," said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. "The property sector has not stabilized. The economy is still supported more by external demand than domestic consumption. The labour market remains weak," he said.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
China's July consumer prices flat, factory-gate prices miss forecast
BEIJING, Aug 9 (Reuters) - China's consumer prices were unchanged in July, while producer prices fell more than expected, underscoring the impact of sluggish domestic demand and persistent trade uncertainty on consumer and business sentiment. Factory-gate prices have been declining for more than two years, and Saturday's data suggest early-stage efforts to tackle price competition have yet to yield results. Deflationary pressures have prompted Chinese authorities to address overcapacity in key industries. However, the latest round of industrial restructuring appears to be a pared-down version of the sweeping supply-side reforms launched a decade ago that were pivotal in ending a deflationary spiral. The consumer price index (CPI) was flat year-on-year in July, compared with a 0.1% rise in June, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Saturday, beating a Reuters poll forecast of a 0.1% slide. Food prices fell 1.6%, following a 0.3% decline in June. Extreme weather added to the economic strain, with sweltering heat gripping much of China's eastern seaboard last month and heavier-than-usual downpours lashing the country with the East Asian monsoon stalling over its north and south. On a monthly basis, the CPI edged up 0.4%, against a 0.1% drop in June and exceeding forecasts for a 0.3% rise. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, was 0.8% in July from a year earlier, quickening from June's 0.7%. A prolonged housing downturn and a fragile trade truce with the U.S. are weighing on consumer spending and factory activity. Policymakers are prioritising efforts to curb what they view as disorderly competition in the auto and other key industries, rather than rolling out immediate stimulus measures, but analysts see limited potential for the campaign to significantly boost final demand. The producer price index (PPI) fell 3.6% year on year in July, missing economists' forecast of a 3.3% slide. It fell 3.6% in June too, which was the lowest since July 2023.
Bloomberg
16-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
S&P 500 Waffles as Chipmaker Losses Offset Upbeat Bank Results
The S&P 500 Index shuffled between small gains and losses on Wednesday, as a decline in chipmakers kept broader gains in check as traders parsed cooling producer prices and a string of profit updates from big banks. The equities benchmark slipped less than 0.1% as of 9:57 a.m. in New York, leaving it 0.6% from a fresh all-time high. The Nasdaq 100 Index fell 0.4%, a day after notching a new record as US-listed shares of ASML Holding NV dropped nearly 10% after the chip equipment maker struck a more cautious tone about growth outlook next year.
Bloomberg
09-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
China Producer Prices Fall Most Since 2023 as Deflation Lingers
China's producer prices fell the most in nearly two years, as the country's factory-gate deflation deepens and overshadows a modest improvement in consumer prices. Factory deflation persisted into a 33rd month, with the producer price index falling 3.6% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. The decline was more than economists had expected and faster than May's 3.3% drop.
Zawya
20-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Meat, vegetable price surge pushes South Africa's food inflation to 4.4% in May
The latest update on South Africa's food inflation revealed a further acceleration, as vegetable and meat prices increased in May 2025. South Africa's annual food inflation jumped again by 1.1 percentage points from the previous month to 4.4% year-on-year in May 2025. However, monthly food inflation slowed to 1.2% month-on-month in May relative to 1.3% m/m in April 2025. Nonetheless, headline consumer inflation remained well contained after a surprise pause at 2.8% year-on-year in May 2025, with the monthly trend still flat and decelerating below 1% at 0.2% month-on-month. Fruit and nuts inflation sees mixed movement While the fruits and nuts inflation posted the biggest annual increase of 6.2 percentage points from April to 13.5% year-over-year in May, it fell for the third consecutive month to -1.3% month-over-month, which reflects the current favourable supply situation following excellent seasonal production conditions. Earlier weather-induced supply constraints with harvest and logistics delays caused a surge in vegetable inflation to 10.3% year-on-year (+5.8 percentage points) and 5.9% m/m (+1.2 percentage points) in May 2025. The rally in meat prices continued on the back of tight supplies, thus lifting meat inflation by 1.2ppts from April to a 23-month high of 4.4% year-on-year in May 2025. Monthly meat inflation, however, decelerated to 2.3% month-on-month in April and to 1.2% in May 2025. We are not surprised at this development as prices at the producer level surged across the livestock complex, with average class A beef carcass prices breaching the R70/kg level for the first time in history. Prices accelerated despite the disease outbreaks that have now complicated the price outlook and the domestic supply dynamics. Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak tightens supply The foot‑and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak is now in full swing, resulting in an export ban and a quarantine of affected establishments. The quarantine has created a short supply crunch due to the inability to slaughter. Further, the constrained import supplies due to avian influenza (AI)-induced ban on South Africa's biggest poultry meat supplier, Brazil, elicited further upside for prices, particularly the mechanically deboned meat (MDM), which is used in the manufacturing of products such as polony, etc. SA is a net importer of MDM due to a lack of domestic capacity. Meanwhile, the bread and cereals inflation continued to surprise on the downside after decelerating to 4.5% y/y and only nudging 0.1 percentage points from April to 0.4% month-on-month in May 2025. It is apparent that the lag effect of supply shock and the consequent spike in grain prices in the past eight months did fully materialise. Globally, food inflation as per the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) decelerated sharply by 2 percentage points from April to 6% y/y in May 2025 as declines in cereal, vegetables, and sugar prices more than outweighed gains in the animal protein categories (dairy, meat). Strong global demand boosted the monthly bovine, ovine, and pig meat prices, which advanced by 1%, 8.3%, and 2.3% month-on-month, respectively, in May. Animal protein prices diverge globally However, global pig meat inflation remained in deflationary mode for the fourteenth consecutive month at ‑0.4% year-on-year while bovine and ovine meats were sharply higher by 11.8% and 29.7% year-on-year, respectively. AI hammered the poultry market as import bans from some countries and the subsequent oversupply forced a reduction in quotations from Brazil. Poultry meat came in at -0.8% month-on-month but accelerated to 3.3% year-on-year in May from 2.6% year-on-year in April. On a parting note, the combination of a renewed rand exchange rate appreciation and a decent summer crop harvest outlook poses a downside risk to most agriculture commodities for the year ahead. Further, meat prices are increasingly surging into consumer resistance territory and may not sustain these levels for a longer period, given the timid economic growth and subdued consumer buying power. Nonetheless, the continued downside at the pump, with fuel falling by 14% year-on-year, as well as a flat to lower interest rate outlook, bodes well for consumer financial recovery for the remainder of the year. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
