China's Consumer Inflation Slows as Producer Prices Climb to Nearly Four-Year High

China's consumer inflation slowed in June, even as producer prices accelerated, reflecting divergent trends across the world's second-largest economy. The headline consumer price index rose 1.0% year over year in June, easing from 1.2% in both April and May and marking the slowest increase in three months, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. The reading came in slightly below the 1.1% consensus forecast tracked by Investing.com. On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.3% in June after edging down 0.1% in May, compared with market expectations for a 0.2% decline. Food prices declined 1.6% from a year earlier, while non-food prices increased 1.5%. Consumer goods prices rose 1.1%, and services prices increased 0.8%. Among major categories, transportation and communication prices rose 4.1%, healthcare costs increased 2.3%, and clothing prices gained 1.4%. Housing prices, however, fell 0.3% from a year earlier. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 1.0% year over year in June. Consumer prices increased 1.0% on average during the first six months of 2026. Meanwhile, China's producer price index rose 4.1% year over year in.