China's April Consumer Prices Fall for Third Straight Month... Down 0.1% Year-on-Year

China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April declined for the third consecutive month, despite the government's efforts to boost domestic demand.

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics on May 9, the April CPI fell by 0.1% compared to the same month last year. This is the same rate of decline as in March (-0.1%) and matches market expectations.

The year-on-year CPI growth rate in China had slowed after reaching 0.6% in August last year. It rebounded to 0.5% in January this year, following the government's domestic demand stimulus measures and the Lunar New Year holiday, but returned to negative territory with -0.7% in February and -0.1% in March.

However, on a month-on-month basis, the April CPI rose by 0.1%, exceeding market expectations that there would be no change. The March CPI had fallen by 0.4% compared to the previous month.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for April dropped by 2.7% year-on-year, marking the 31st consecutive month of decline. Compared to the previous month, it fell by 0.4%. The year-on-year drop in PPI was steeper than in March (-2.5%).