The January-February CPI in China decreases 0.1% days after the annual decrease in inflation control control

Just a few days after China reduced the annual consumer inflation control goal from about 3 % to about 2 % – after two years in which the effective reading decreased to 0.2 % – the National Statistics Office said that the February Consumer Index (CPI) has decreased by 0.7 percent.

Gautge inflation for the first two months of this year – including the mobile holiday of the Lunar New Year – decreased by 0.1 percent compared to the same period last year, the office announced on Sunday.

Economists questioned by the Chinese financial data provider Wind forecast IPC would decrease by 0.35 percent last month.

Food prices dropped by 3.3 percent in February, while the prices of services decreased by 0.4 percent.

The basic inflation, which excludes volatile prices of food and energy, has dropped by 0.1 percent year by year. Increased by 0.3 percent year by year during January-February.

The price index of the producer in China (PPI), which follows the cost of goods at the factory gate, decreased by 2.2 %, compared to a decrease of 2.3 percent in January. Marked 29th consecutive month of contraction.

“China’s economy is still facing deflationary pressure,” said Zhiwei Zhang, the chief economist of the Pinpoint asset management.