China’s consumer price growth slowed in June while factory prices eased but remained in deflationary territory, prompting hopes for stronger efforts to spur the economy at an important Communist party policy gathering next week.
Consumer prices rose 0.2 per cent year on year in June, according to official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, a retreat from an 0.3 per cent rise in May and less than a forecast of 0.4 per cent growth by a Bloomberg poll of analysts.
The producer price index declined 0.8 per cent last month year on year, improving from a 1.4 per cent contraction in May. The factory gate price gauge has gained strength over the past three months, and was in line with analysts’ forecasts, but the data underscored concerns about tepid consumer spending in the world’s second-largest economy.