Inflation Indices

The course of monetary tightening

How far will Beijing go to forestall economic overheating?

China raises bank reserve ratio by 50bps

China's central bank announced it will raise banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points, effective February 25. This is the second 50 basis point hike since mid January, and brings RRR to 16.5% for large depository institutions. There is "temporarily" no change in the RRR for rural credit co-operatives and other "small financial institutions", the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) said.

January CPI inflation slows

China's Consumer Price Index (CPI), measure of inflation, moderated to a 1.5% rise in January year on year, down from December's 1.9% advance. The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures mainly the prices of production inputs, was up 4.3% year on year, compared to a 1.7% rise in December. The two new figures reduce pressure on Beijing to tighten monetary policy at an early date but also indicate that the tussle to control inflation is not over.

A bubble, a banking crisis or a soft landing?

Inflation, surging asset prices, overcapacity, hidden local debts, non-performing loans and tightening liquidity. Is this a 'China bubble' about to burst?

Raising the bank reserve requirement

The central bank raised the bank reserve requirement by 0.5 percentage points on January 18. Is this a sign of more tightening to come?

China inflation leaps, led by food

China registered its sharpest one-month rise in inflation for 20 months in December led by food prices, which jumped 5.2% year on year. We think Beijing’s concern over inflation is now bordering on alarm; if it cannot reassert control in coming weeks, it may be forced to tighten liquidity again either by new administrative measures or by raising interest rates.

Inflation seen sharply higher, structural in nature

We expect inflation as indicated by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) to show sharp year on year increases for the month of December 2009 when statistics are announced, expected on Thursday.

Food inflation: Winners and Losers

Inflation in the price of many farm products is no small deal in a country with 721m rural citizens.

Yurun (1068:HKG)

The meat processor's mix of both low and high-end products gives the company more leverage to defend against pork inflation.

Wumart (8277:HKG)

The supermarket chain expects mild food inflation to bolster revenues.

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04 March

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