Related News

HomeBusinessEconomy

Shanghai consumer price growth quickens in April

SHANGHAI'S consumer prices surged to a record high in more than two years, driven by food and residence costs, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said today.

The Consumer Price Index, the main gauge of inflation, expanded 5.1 percent from a year earlier in April, up from an increase of 4.7 percent in both March and February.

The trend in Shanghai was in contrast with that at the national level. China's average CPI growth moderated to 5.3 percent last month from March's 5.4 percent, a 32-month high.

"Shanghai's inflation is running at a rather high level," the bureau said in a note today. "Rising food costs and expenditure related to residence such as rental fees led to April's advance of prices."

Food costs, the biggest constituent which accounts for nearly 30 percent in the CPI basket, climbed 9.9 percent year-on-year last month, up from a rise of 9.7 percent in March. Residence spending, another major constituent, swelled 5.1 percent on an annual basis in April.

To control runaway price increases, China yesterday ordered commercial banks to put aside more money as reserves. It was the fifth hike of the reserve requirement ratio so far this year, together with two interest rate rises.

Apart from national measures to trim market liquidity, Shanghai government has been beefing up efforts to guarantee supply of various products. It also strengthened administrative supervision to prevent swindling, conspiring, price-fixing and hoarding.

Last week, Unilever China was fined 2 million yuan (US$308,000) for talking to media about potential price rises, which triggered a panic buying of personal care products in February that seriously distorted market order.

 

Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

娌叕缃戝畨澶 31010602000204鍙

Email this to your friend