China's Consumer Prices Stable In July

(RTTNews) - Consumer prices in China were stable in July, providing ample room for the authorities to roll out more measures to support the economy, official data showed Saturday.

The CPI, a main gauge of inflation, rose by 2.3 percent on year in July, unchanged from last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The index also matched economists forecast, but remained below government's annual target of 3.5 percent.

On month, the consumer prices grew 0.1 percent, after falling 0.1 percent a month earlier.

Inflation improved by 2.3 percent in urban areas and 2.1 percent in rural areas, data showed.

Food prices advanced by 3.6 percent in July, down from 3.7 percent in June. Fresh fruit prices surged by 20.1 percent.

House prices, which includes rental costs, utilities and building material, rose 2 percent in July annually.

Separate data showed that China's producer price index declined 0.9 percent year-over-year in July, slower than the 1.1 percent drop in June. The reading was in line with economists expectation.

The PPI fell 0.1 percent on month in July, after falling 0.2 percent in the preceding month.

Trade data released on Friday showed that China's trade surplus increased to a record $47.3 billion in July, as export growth accelerated while imports showed an unexpected decline.