China’s economy edged out of deflation in August, as Beijing struggles to promote growth and revive investor confidence following a slide in the country’s property market and a plunge in exports, reports the Financial Times. The consumer prices index was 0.1% higher year on year in August, below a Reuters poll of analysts for a 0.2% increase, but emerging from the negative territory of minus 0.3% recorded in July.
The producer prices index, meanwhile, fell by 3% year on year, in line with analyst expectations and underlining continuing weakness in the industrial sector. But the fall was less severe than July’s 4.4% fall. Producer prices were also a fraction of a% higher month on month.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday the consumer prices index had on average increased 0.5% in the first eight months of the year compared with the same period in 2022.