Wenzhou’s CPI up 0.9% year-on-year in May

Wenzhou’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.9% year-on-year in May, a 0.2 percentage points rise over the previous month, remaining relatively stable on a month-to-month comparison, the Wenzhou Survey Team of the National Bureau of Statistics of China said on June 13. It means that Wenzhou’s overall consumer market has maintained a stable condition, with a moderate upward trend.

In May, the food prices that garnered public attention fluctuated year-on-year. After enduring over a year of low prices, the price of pork has embarked on a new upward cycle. It rose by 6.2% in May, reaching an 18-month high. Additionally, the prices of freshwater fish, fresh vegetables and fruits increased by 5.9%, 1.3%, and 0.1% respectively. Conversely, the prices of beef, mutton, and poultry declined by 5.3%, 0.9%, and 0.6% respectively. However, the overall food price declined by 0.3%, affecting nearly 0.06 percentage points drop in the CPI year-on-year.

Non-food prices rose by 1.2%, a 0.1 percentage point increase over the previous month; energy prices increased by 3.9%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point. The prices of industrial consumer goods, excluding those of energy, rose by 1.5%. Meanwhile, new energy cars and fuel cars experienced price drops of 6.9% and 3.0%, respectively, which indicated a widening decline. Service prices increased by 0.6%, with household services and education services rising by 2.5% and 1.7%, respectively.

Wenzhou’s CPI remained flat on a month-on-month basis, reversing a 0.2% increase over the previous month. The food prices rose by 0.5%, with fresh vegetables and pork seeing an increase of 1.7% and 0.3% respectively, owing to factors such as rainy weather and a reduction in hog production capacity. In contrast, beef, fresh fruits, shrimp, and crabs, which enjoyed relatively sufficient market supply, experienced price drops of 1.8%, 1.3%, and 1.0% respectively. Non-food prices changed from an increase of 1.1% in the previous month to a decrease of 0.1%, which led to a drop of about 0.04 percentage points in the CPI month-on-month.

After the May Day Holiday, the prices of air tickets and tourism declined to varying degrees, leading to a slight month-on-month drop in the overall price of services. Specifically, air ticket prices and transportation rental fees fell by 12.2% and 2.8% respectively. Moreover, due to the decline in international oil prices, domestic gasoline and diesel prices also declined by 0.7% and 0.8% respectively, which, coupled with car price cuts for promotions, contributed to a certain extent to the decline in transportation prices.

As for the future trends of CPI, Liu Aihua, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, stated that as supply increases, food prices are anticipated to remain at seasonally low levels in the upcoming months. Under the influence of the trade-in policy for industrial consumer goods, consumer demand is expected to gather momentum, leading to a gradual and modest overall price increase. Service prices are also forecast to continue their upward trajectory, driven by the gradual recovery of service demand. Given these factors, the CPI is anticipated to rise moderately from its current low level in coming months.(ZhongXin)