National Bureau of Statistics: CPI increase rate expands on a month-on-month basis, and changes from a decrease to an increase year-on-year.

CPI rose by 0.2% on a month-on-month basis, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month and slightly higher than the seasonal level. Service prices turned from a decline to an increase. Service prices rose by 0.2% from a 0.3% decrease last month, higher than the seasonal level by 0.2 percentage points, impacting the CPI increase by about 0.07 percentage points on a month-on-month basis. During the holidays of National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, travel demand was strong, leading to increases in hotel accommodation, airfare, and tour prices by 8.6%, 4.5%, and 2.5% respectively, all higher than the seasonal level; medical service prices rose by 0.5%. Food prices increased more than seasonally. Food prices rose by 0.3%, while the seasonal level showed a decrease of 0.1 percentage points. During the holiday period, consumer demand increased, with prices of fresh vegetables, lamb, fresh fruits, shrimp and crab, and beef rising between 0.5% and 4.3%. Industrial consumer goods prices remained steady with some increases. Energy prices fell by 0.4%, while industrial consumer goods prices excluding energy rose by 0.3%, impacting the CPI increase by about 0.07 percentage points on a month-on-month basis. Additionally, influenced by the rise in international gold prices, domestic gold jewelry prices increased by 10.2%. CPI increased by 0.2% year-on-year compared to a 0.3% decrease last month. Food and energy prices remained low, but the rate of decline narrowed. Food prices decreased by 2.9%, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the previous month, impacting the year-on-year CPI decrease by about 0.54 percentage points. Prices of pork, eggs, and fresh vegetables decreased by 7.3% to 16.0%, with the rate of decline narrowing, while prices of beef, lamb, and seafood increased by 2.0% to 5.6%, with the rate of increase expanding. Energy prices decreased by 2.4%, with gasoline prices falling by 5.5%, affecting the year-on-year CPI decrease by about 0.18 percentage points. Excluding food and energy prices, core CPI increased by 1.2% year-on-year, expanding for the sixth consecutive month and reaching the highest level since March 2024. Service prices have gradually rebounded since March, rising by 0.8% this month, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. Airfare and hotel accommodation prices increased by 8.9% and 2.8% respectively; medical services and household services prices increased by 2.4% and 2.3% respectively. Industrial consumer goods prices excluding energy rose by 2.0%, expanding for the sixth consecutive month, with gold jewelry and platinum jewelry prices increasing by 50.3% and 46.1% respectively; the effects of policies to expand domestic demand continued to manifest, with prices of household appliances, durable consumer goods, and household daily necessities increasing between 2.4% and 5.0%, while the price decline of fuel-powered cars narrowed to 2.3%.