From CNBC, June 9/10:
- The producer price index jumped 3.9% from a year ago, the highest since July 2022.
- Consumer prices rose 1.2% in May from a year earlier, missing economists’ estimates of 1.3% growth.
- Core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy prices, grew 1.1%, edging down from the 1.2% rise in the prior month.
China’s wholesale prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly four years in May, driven by surging raw material costs due to the Iran war and an artificial intelligence investment boom, while consumer inflation came in below estimates.
The producer price index jumped 3.9% from a year ago, the highest since July 2022, topping economists’ forecast of 3.8%, and outpacing 2.8% in April, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.
Wholesale prices returned to growth in March as the input cost surge stemming from the Middle East conflict lifted the economy out of its longest deflationary streak in decades. The Iran war has throttled traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting energy and raw material flows.
Factories’ purchasing prices for fuel and power climbed 10% year on year in May, widening from 4.4% in April. Costs for non-ferrous metal materials and wires surged 22%.
Aside from higher commodity costs, wholesale prices were also lifted by a growing demand for artificial intelligence computing power, pushing up prices for tech equipment and semiconductors.
“The accelerating shift to electrification, deepening AI adoption and surging computing demand pushed up prices across non-ferrous metals, electrical machinery and computer hardware,” Dong Lijuan, chief statistician at NBS, said in a statement Wednesday. Non-ferrous metal mining led gains at 36.5% year on year, with smelting up 24%....
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