China’s consumer inflation accelerated to 1.2% in April, topping analyst estimates, as the Middle East crisis drove a surge in energy prices.<\/p>\n
The Chinese consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.2% last month from a year earlier, accelerating from 1% annual inflation in March, data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n The CPI exceeded an analyst consensus estimate of 0.9%<\/a> inflation last month.<\/p>\n The core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, also accelerated to 1.2% in April from a year earlier, according to the data.<\/p>\n The CPI increased by 0.3% in April compared to March, reversing a 0.7% monthly decline in March and exceeding the seasonal level by 0.4 percentage point, the official Chinese data showed.<\/p>\n The producer price index (PPI), the producer inflation, soared in April to the highest since July 2022, mostly due to the energy supply shock in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Set OilPrice.com as a preferred source in Google here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Inflation is accelerating across Asian markets where energy buyers scramble for supply while producers and consumers feel the rising energy costs.<\/p>\n In India, the second-largest crude oil importer in Asia and the third-biggest in the world, inflation is also set<\/a> to have accelerated in April.<\/p>\n The annual consumer price index (CPI) is expected to have jumped to 3.8% in April, up from 3.4% in March, a Reuters poll<\/a> of 46 economists showed last week.<\/p>\n Responses in the poll, carried out between May 4 and May 8, ranged from 2.8% to 4.2%. Official data is expected on May 12.<\/p>\n All economists concur that the effects of the higher energy prices have begun to take their toll on consumer prices, even if the average forecast is below the 4% inflation target of India’s central bank.<\/p>\n India has cut taxes<\/a> on gasoline and diesel prices to protect consumers, but eventually retail fuel prices would rise if the supply shock persists, analysts say.<\/p>\n By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com<\/a><\/p>\n