MNI 5 THINGS: China Feb CPI Faster Than Expected; PPI Slower

     BEIJING (MNI) - China's National Bureau of Statistics released consumer

price index and producer price index data on Friday. Here are five things MNI

learned from the new data.

     - On a monthly basis, CPI growth of 1.2% was 0.6 percentage point faster

than the 0.6% in January; it was the quickest rate in two years.

     - M/m CPI acceleration was due to higher food prices amid the Chinese New

Year, which fell in mid-February this year. Cold weather affected production and

transportation of some agricultural products, also pushing up food prices, NBS

said. The service sector, including retailers, food services and tourism-related

segments, also saw quicker price growth.

     - CPI growth surged to 2.9% y/y in February, much higher than the 2.5%

median of a survey by MNI. It was the highest since November of 2013. A much

lower base last February amplified the growth as the Chinese New Year, which

typically causes prices to gain, fell in January in 2017.

     - PPI rose 3.7% y/y in February, in line with the projection of a MNI

survey. At 0.6 percentage point slower from January, it was the lowest since

November 2016. A higher base of comparison also helped reflect a slower PPI

growth. Producer prices increased 7.8 y/y in February 2017.

     - PPI m/m was down 0.1% from the 0.3% growth in January, the first time in

eight months. Prices of four commodity categories, due to weaker demand, helped

decelerate the indicator. Price of natural gas was down 0.9% m/m, non-ferrous

metal smelting and flattening slowed by 0.8%, ferrous metal smelting and

flattening price decreased by 0.7%, while non-metal ore product dropped 0.4%

from January. 

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: iris.ouyang@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

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