China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, increased by 0.5 percent year on year in July, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday.
On a monthly basis, CPI also rose by 0.5 percent in July, driven by seasonal factors including the summer vacation and weather conditions and representing an uptick from the 0.2-percent drop recorded in June.
Customers shopping for vegetables in a supermarket in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, August 9, 2024. /CFP
In contrast, the producer price index (PPI) saw a year-on-year decline of 0.8 percent in July, maintaining the same rate of decline as in the previous month.
The decline is attributed to price fluctuations in international commodities and insufficient domestic market demand for certain industrial products, as explained by NBS chief statistician Dong Lijuan.
Intelligent robotic arms welding jack parts in Fuzhou, south China's Fujian Province, August 8, 2024 /CFP
For the first seven months of 2024, the country's CPI rose by 0.2 percent compared to the same period last year, while PPI dipped 2.0 percent.