MNI DATA IMPACT: China March CPI Rebounds To 5-month High

     BEIJING (MNI) - Here are five points of note from China's March inflation

data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday:

     --CPI was 2.3% y/y in March, rebounding from 1.5% in the previous month and

hitting a five-month high. An MNI survey of economists had projected 2.5%. 

     --The y/y CPI gain was partly due to higher food prices which rose 4.1%

y/y. In particular, the price of pork reversed the previous 25 months of

contraction and rose 5.1% y/y.

     --CPI fell 0.4% m/m in March as fresh food prices declined following the

Chinese New Year in February. Food prices fell 0.9% m/m compared with a 3.2%

gain in February. Prices of non-food items also fell 0.2% m/m.

     - The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.4% y/y, up from Feb's 0.1%, in line

with the forecast in an MNI survey. It rose 0.1% monthly, compared with 0.1% m/m

contraction in January.

     - The ex-factory prices of oil and gas exploration, oil, coal and other

fuel processing, ferrous metal processing expanded gains at 5.6%, 2.3% and 1.1%

on a monthly basis. The price of automobile manufacturing reported no change

after the 0.2% decline in February.

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

--MNI Sydney Bureau; +61 405322399; email: lachlan.colquhoun.ext@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: MAQDS$,MAUDR$,MAUDS$,M$A$$$,M$Q$$$,M$U$$$]