China Inflation Rate

Last Release

Feb 28, 2025

Actual

-0.7

Units In

0.5

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Apr 10, 2025

Time to Release

28 Days 21 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
28.4 Feb 1989	-2.2 Apr 1999	4.6 %	1986-2025	National Bureau of Statistics of China

In China, the most important components of the CPI basket are Food (31.8 percent of total weight) and Residence (17.2 percent). Recreation, Education and Culture Articles account for 13.8 percent; Transportation and Communication for 10 percent, Healthcare and Personal Articles for 9.6 percent, Clothing for 8.5 percent; Households Facilities, Articles and Services for 5.6 percent; Tobacco, Liquor and Articles for the remaining 3.5 percent. The CPI basket is reviewed every five years on the basis of household surveys. Revisions reflect new spending patterns and economic development, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Last revision took place in 2011.

Latest Updates

China's consumer prices dropped by 0.7% yoy in February 2025, surpassing market estimates of a 0.5% decline and reversing a 0.5% rise in the prior month. This was the first consumer deflation since January 2024, amid fading seasonal demand following the Spring Festival in late January. Food prices fell the most in 13 months (-3.3% vs 0.4% in January), dragged by a steep decrease in cost of fresh vegetables (-12.6% vs 2.4%) and a sharp slowdown in pork prices (4.1% vs 13.8%). Meanwhile, non-food prices edged lower (-0.1% vs 0.5%), as increases in housing (0.1% vs 0.1%) and healthcare (0.2% vs 0.7%) were offset by declines in education (-0.5% vs 1.7%) and transport (-2.5% vs -0.6%). Core inflation, excluding volatile food and fuel prices, fell 0.1% in February, in contrast to a 0.6% rise in January. Monthly, the CPI fell 0.2%, shifting from January's 11-month top of a 0.7% rise and marking the first drop since last November. This fall was also steeper than consensus of a 0.1% decrease.