CHINA’S consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, registered a monthly increase of 0.2% in July thanks to continued recovery of consumer demand, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday.

In breakdown, food prices declined 1% month on month, but the prices of non-food items rose 0.5% on a monthly basis.

Among the non-food items, services prices rose 0.8% month on month, widening 0.7 percentage points compared with that in June.

Services prices were mainly driven by a rise in the prices of travel services following significant increases in summer travel, said NBS statistician Dong Lijuan.

The prices of air tickets, tourism and hotel accommodation rose 26%, 10.1% and 6.5%, respectively, on a monthly basis.

The prices of industrial consumer goods rose 0.3% month on month, reversing a 0.4% decline in the previous month.

On a yearly basis, the country’s CPI declined 0.3% due to a high base in the corresponding period of 2022, according to Dong.

The core CPI, deducting food and energy prices, rose 0.8% year on year, with the pace of increase widening 0.4 percentage points compared with that in June.

The average CPI from January to July rose 0.5% year on year.

According to Dong, the year-on-year decline of the CPI will likely prove a short-term phenomenon.

With sustained economic recovery, steady market demand expansion, continuous improvement of supply and demand, and gradual elimination of the impact of the high base in the corresponding period of last year, the country’s CPI is expected to gradually rise, said Dong.        (Xinhua)