China’s consumer prices fall in August

[BEIJING] China’s consumer prices slid in August while producer deflation eased, as policymakers tried to rein in excessive competition and price cuts in key industrial sectors.

The consumer price index was down 0.4 per cent last month from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Wednesday, missing the Reuters poll forecast of a 0.2 per cent dip. It was unchanged in July.

On a monthly basis, CPI was unchanged versus a 0.4 per cent increase in July, and compared with forecasts for a 0.1 per cent uptick.

The producer price index dropped 2.9 per cent year-on-year in August, narrowing from a 3.6 per cent decline in the previous month. Economists had projected a 2.9 per cent fall. REUTERS