China’s Producer Inflation Moderates in May
2022.06.10 08:40
By Zhang Mengying
Investing.com – China’s factory-gate inflation cooled to its slowest pace in 14 months in May, as global commodity prices eased, while COVID-19 curbs in the world’s second-largest economy kept consumer inflation in check.
Official data released earlier in the day showed that the producer price index (PPI) rose 6.4% year-on-year in May, in line with Forecasts prepared by Investing.com while a rise of 8.0% was recorded in April. The cooling might be caused by weak demand for steel, aluminum, and other industrial commodities.
Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.1% year on year and remained unchanged from April’s reading. Forecasts prepared by Investing.com predicted a growth of 2.2%.
China’s economy has been slowed in recent months, due to COVID-19 curbs and disruptions in supply chains. The urban unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in April, the highest since February 2020.
To stabilize the economy, China’s cabinet announced 33 measures that cover fiscal, financial, investment, and industrial policies. The State Council also called for the local government to resume production and revive the economy.
Shanghai eased its lockdowns on June 1 but resumed partial lockdowns on Thursday given clusters of COVID-19 outbreaks, which adds to worries of a grim economic outlook.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) lowered its 2022 growth forecast to 4% from 4.5% last month, while China’s official target is around 5.5%.
