China's consumer prices experienced modest growth while producer prices continued to decline in May, indicating the necessity for additional stimulus measures to boost demand and consumption.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday that the consumer price index saw an annual increase of 0.3 percent in May, matching the rate observed in April. This figure fell short of the anticipated 0.4 percent rise.
Inflation remains significantly below the government's full-year target of 3 percent.
Food prices decreased at a slower annual rate of 2.0 percent, following a 2.7 percent decline in the previous month. Excluding energy and food prices, core inflation slipped to 0.6 percent from 0.7 percent.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices dipped by 0.1 percent, negating the 0.1 percent gain seen last month, contrary to economists' predictions of no change.
Zichun Huang, an economist at Capital Economics, noted that inflation is expected to rebound in the coming months. However, due to ongoing overcapacity issues, it will likely remain very low in the foreseeable future.
Additional data from the NBS revealed that producer prices continued their decline for the 20th consecutive month.
Producer prices fell by 1.4 percent annually in May, a slower decline compared to April's 2.5 percent decrease. This figure was slightly better than economists' forecast of a 1.5 percent drop. On a month-to-month basis, the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 0.2 percent.
