China’s transport costs surge in line with skyrocketing oil prices, but at least food is getting cheaper
- China’s official consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.1 per cent in June, year on year, while plunging pork prices helped drive down the cost of food by 1.7 per cent
- Oil prices worldwide have been climbing for months amid a global recovery and nearly reached US$80 a barrel in June
Chinese consumers are enjoying relatively low food prices but should brace for rising transport costs as surging global oil prices continue to wreak havoc by inflating the prices of oil-reliant products and services.
China’s official consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.1 per cent in June from a year earlier, down from 1.3 per cent in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.
The biggest driving factor behind the non-food price surge last month appeared to be transport costs, which were 5.8 per cent higher than the same time last year. This followed a May increase of 5.5 per cent.
Consumer inflation in goods unrelated to oil and food – such as household items, clothing and health care materials – remained flat.
The rise in transport-related, fuel-price inflation was due to the “pass-through effects from higher global oil prices”, Nomura analysts said in a note.
