(Yicai) Aug. 11 -- Consumer prices in China rose for the second consecutive month in July, while factory gate prices kept falling but at a slower pace on a monthly basis.

The consumer price index rose 0.1 percent last month from a year earlier, the same as in June, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Aug. 9. On a monthly basis, the CPI climbed 0.4 percent in July, reversing a 0.1 percent drop the previous month.

The official figures beat expectations, as chief economists polled by Yicai on Aug. 6 predicted that the CPI had fallen 0.2 percent in July from a year earlier.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased 0.8 percent in the period, the highest since March last year, according to NBS data.

Factory Gate Prices

The producer price index plunged 3.6 percent last month from the same period last year, unchanged from June, NBS data also showed. On a monthly basis, however, the PPI dropped 0.2 percent in July, narrowing from a 0.4 percent decline the month before.

The chief economists polled by Yicai had expected the PPI to fall 3.3 percent.

Factory gate prices in industries such as non-metallic mineral products and ferrous metals mainly declined due to seasonal factors, such as high temperature and rainfalls affecting demand for building materials, electricity, and coal, and uncertainties in the international trade environment, the NBS said.

The continued optimization of domestic market competition promoted the narrowing of price declines in some industries, including coal and steel, the NBS noted. Meanwhile, international factors drove prices of industries related to oil and non-ferrous metals.   

Prices will slightly rebound in the second half thanks to the economy’s recovery amid stability, the continuous implementation of policies to expand domestic demand, the resolution of disordered low-price competition, the holiday effect, and weaker carryover effects, according to Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS.

Editor: Futura Costaglione