Inflation in China tame in 2021 amid stable economy

Inflation climbed by 0.9 per cent in 2021, well below the country's annual target of approximately 3 per cent.

In the face of COVID-19 outbreaks in multiple places, the authorities have also coordinated measures to rein in the pandemic and ensure goods supplies, which helped stabilise prices and maintain market stability, senior NBS statistician Dong Lijuan was quoted as saying by an official news agency.

Food prices dropped by 1.2 per cent in December 2021 from a year ago, reversing the 1.6-per cent rise in November.

Non-food prices, including gasoline and diesel prices, rose by 2.1 per cent from a year earlier, easing from the 2.5 per cent in November. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, gained 1.2 per cent year on year in December, unchanged from a month ago.

The country's consumer prices experienced an upward trend at a low level in 2021, peaking in November at merely 2.3 per cent, thanks to decisive, effective action by the government to bolster production of daily necessities and smooth sharp fluctuations of commodity prices.

In 2020 and 2019, China's inflation rose by 2.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively.

Analysts expect more consumer price rises this year as the increase in commodity prices will start influencing consumer goods, noting that the price gains will be reasonable.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)