Hungary’s consumer prices decreased for the third straight month in July, and at a faster-than-expected pace, figures from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office showed Tuesday. The reading was in line with a median 1.8% gain forecast by 17 economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.
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Overall, food prices were up 3.3% in July, compared with the 4.6% rise in June.
Chinese PPI has been negative for more than four years but narrowing declines in the last three months have fuelled hopes the country – a key driver of the world economy – could be reaching the bottom of a painful slowdown. “There’s still room for authorities to do more stimulus”. “China’s economy is under renewed pressures from a housing downturn and slower consumer spending, inflation has peaked out, and the effect of interest rate cuts in 2014 to 2015 is reversing quickly”, said Wei Li, China and Asia economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Data released on Monday showed China’s imports fell by more than 12% in July, signaling weak domestic demand.
The price of pork rose 16.1 percent year on year in July, slowing from 30.1-percent rise recorded in June.
Non-ferrous metals prices rose 2.8 percent monthly in July, while steel prices added 0.4 percent.
“A lot of piglets died in the south from flooding”, said Dan Wang, analyst at research group EIU Access China.
Healthcare costs rose 4.3 percent year-on-year in July, up from a 3.8 percent gain in June, which Merchants Securities economist Yan Ling in Shenzhen said reflects a wider improvement in demand for such products. Provinces along the Yangtze River directly affected by the floods produce nearly 40% of the nation’s pork and almost 60% of its rice, research firm Business Monitor International Ltd. estimates.
A drop in food price inflation dragged on the figures, Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a commentary, noting a “continued pick-up in broader price pressures” especially in service sectors including health care and education. “The price of eggs and pork seems higher these days”, he said. “But we continue to buy what we need without getting too bothered”.
Inflation remained low in July, with a slight drop in factory prices, indicating that economic growth remains weak and the country still needs to relax its monetary policy to help the corporate sector and jazz up economic activity, analysts said.
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The government has set an official inflation target of about 3 per cent for this year.
