Data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, released early Thursday, April 10, showed that the annual consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation, contracted for the second consecutive month in March, falling by 0.1% compared to a contraction of approximately 0.7% in February.
Expectations were for it to remain unchanged at 0.0%. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.5% after a 0.1% decline in February, the first since 2021.
Conversely, China’s producer price index (PPI) fell for the 29th consecutive month, falling to 2.5% year-on-year in March, compared to a 2.2% decline in February. Expectations were for it to fall to 2.3%, marking the largest contraction since November 2024.
Both forecasts indicate that the world’s second-largest economy is preparing to implement further stimulus to boost domestic consumption in the coming period, amid the turmoil of the trade war with the United States.