China Tasa De Inflación

China's consumer prices edged up 0.1% yoy in March 2024, compared with market forecasts of 0.4% and after a 0.7% rise in the previous month. The notable slowdown came as the effects of the Lunar New Year waned, with non-food inflation easing (0.7% vs 1.1% in February) as the cost of education moderated sharply (1.8% vs 3.9%) while transport prices fell further (-1.3% vs -0.4%). Simultaneously, inflation was unchanged for clothing (at 1.6%), housing (at 0.2%), and health (at 1.5%). On the food side, prices fell much steeper (-2.7% vs -0.9%), as costs of pork and fresh vegetables turned lower following rises in February. The core consumer prices, deducting food and energy prices, increased by 0.6% yoy in March, slowing from the prior 1.2% which was the fastest rise since January 2022. Monthly, the CPI decreased 1.0%, the first fall in four months and a reversal from a 1.0% rise in February. It came worse than estimates of a 0.5% drop, pointing to the steepest monthly fall in 3 years.