Consumer price growth in China slowed and fell short of expectations in April, while factory gate deflation widened, according to official data on Thursday, suggesting that more stimulus may be required to strengthen a shaky post-Covid economic recovery.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data shows that annual growth in the consumer price index (CPI) slowed to 0.1% in April from 0.7% in March.
The outcome fell short of the Reuters poll’s median expectation of a 0.4% increase.
The producer price index (PPI) declined for the seventh consecutive month, falling 3.6% year-over-year following a drop of 2.5% the previous month. This was in contrast to expectations of a 3.2% decrease.
The easing of Covid-19 restrictions in December boosted China’s economic growth in the first quarter, but the rebound has been weak so far. The latest data reveal that manufacturing output and imports both dropped in April.
