China's consumer prices will rise at a slower pace over the rest of the year as the country has largely curbed the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and business activities have steadily returned to normal, an official with the country's top economic planning agency said Tuesday.
"There's no basis for overall price hikes," Peng Shaozong, deputy director of the Department of Price under the National Development and Reform Commission, said at an online press conference, citing that China has a resilient and vibrant economy, abundant supplies of agricultural and industrial products as well as fast-developing service industries.
Because of strong demand and disrupted transportation, prices of pork and vegetables surged last month, pushing China's consumer price index up 5.2 percent.
Retail prices of pork in supermarkets and other marketplaces monitored by the commission, however, have kept falling during the past 30 days, mainly due to the release of frozen pork from state reserves.
Pork prices in southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, for instance, have dropped below 76 yuan (about 11 U.S. dollars) per kilo from a high of 98 yuan per kilo, Peng said, adding that the continuous recovery of pig production would further stabilize prices.
Latest comments