Source: China Daily

05-11-2009 10:51

China's consumer prices and factory gate prices continue to drop in April. The National Bureau of Statistics announced on Monday that the Consumer Price Index for April was down 1.5 percent year on year while the Producer Price Index for the month also fell 6.6 percent. But as CCTV reporter tells us, economists say they are confident that prices will be rising again before the end of this year.

The National Bureau of Statistics says China's Consumer Price Index, a main gauge for inflation, went down 1.5 percent year on year. That marks the third consecutive month of deflation. 

Impacted by the H1N1flu, pork prices slipped significantly by nearly 29 percent year on year. This also drove down prices of meal, poultry and their products by 13.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index, a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, decreased 6.6 percent for the month. The rate of decline also accelerated from a 6 percent drop in March.  

Qi Jingmei, Researcher of State Information Center said "Economic vitality will be firstly reflected in price hikes. If prices keep decreasing, it means consumer demand and companies' production demand are both falling. This will in turn add pressures to economic recovery."