China's CPI rises 4.6 pct in Sept.
20/10/2008 16:28
China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 4.6
percent in September over the same period last year, the National Bureau of
Statistics said today.
The figure, compared with 7.1 percent in June, 6.3
percent in July, 4.9 percent in August and a nearly 12-year-high of 8.7 percent
in February, was broadly in line with most forecasts.
In the first nine
months of this year, the inflation indicator rose 7.0 percent from the same
period last year: 6.7 percent for urban areas and 7.7 percent for the
countryside. The growth rate was 0.9 percentage points lower than that in the
first half.
Food prices, which account for more than a third of the CPI
calculation, rose 17.3 percent during the January to September period.
Zhuang
Jian, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) economist said: "The figure indicated the
government's measures to tame inflationary were effective, and the country's
inflation pressure has been greatly eased."
An official with Ministry of
Commerce who declined to be named told Xinhua that the declining CPI growth was
within the government's expectation, and it was likely to continue a declining
momentum in the future.
Despite a drop in the CPI growth, the producer price
index (PPI), which measures the value of finished products when they leave the
factory, rose 8.3 percent in the first nine months, said the bureau. The growth
rate was 5.6 percentage points higher than the same period last year.
In
September alone, the PPI rose 9.1 percent over the same month a year earlier.
The growth rate was one percentage point lower than the record 10.1 percent in
August.
Meanwhile, the purchaser prices for raw materials, fuel and power
rose 12.4 percent in the first nine months. The growth rate was 8.6 percentage
points higher than a year earlier.
"Surging fuel and raw material prices in
the world markets had pushed up domestic prices through a chain effect. Oil
price, for example, rose almost 50 percent than that at the beginning of the
year," Zhuang said.
"However, the PPI rise is expected to slow down in the
coming months as world fuel price drop. It would not immediately increase
pressure on the CPI," he added.
Yao Jingyuan, chief economist of the bureau,
said price falls in consecutive five months had given the government more
leverage to implement economic control, expand domestic demand and loose price
control on resources materials.
"Since inflation pressure has been greatly
eased, the country should be cautious about a weakening economic growth," said
Li Xiaochao, spokesman with the bureau.
The NBS said this morning that
China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 9.9 percent year on year to 20.163
trillion yuan (2.96 trillion US dollars) in the first three quarters of this
year.
The growth rate was 2.3 percentage points lower than the same period of
last year, or 0.5 percentage points lower than the first half of this
year.
Zuo Xiaolei, China Galaxy Securities chief economist, said the country
should consider moderately easing the tightened economic policy and focus its
efforts on maintaining a fast economic development.
In recent months, most of
China's economic figures indicated that the country's economy has cooled down,
led by both domestic policies and the ebbing world economy.
China's foreign
trade, in particular, was affected by a weakening international demand. Earlier
figure from China Customs showed the country's export was 1.07 trillion US
dollars in the first three quarters, up 22.3 percent over the same period last
year, but the growth rate was 4.8 percentage lower year on year.
"China has
to upgrade its economic growth structure--export can hardly grow fast in the
near future -- it is the right time for the government to boost domestic demand
and stimulate consumption, " Zuo said.
"Considering the poor people are more
prone to spend their money when incomes increased, the policy makers should
increase incomes and improve lives of this kind of people," she said.
Zhao
Jinping, an economist, suggested China should increase prices of farm products
and increase income of farmers, while improving social insurance system covering
education, medical treatment, and aged treatment.
Xinhua
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