Oil Prices Fall as U.S. Crude Inventories Rise, Middle East Risks Persist 
1 in 3 uni students experience serious financial hardship. Could concession cards for all help? 
China’s Slower Loan Growth Becomes ‘New Normal’ as Credit Demand Weakens 
What is Zionism? The different meanings of a contested term 
Europe can’t achieve space sovereignty alone. Here’s why 
Unsustainable – or manageable? We don’t yet know how data centres will impact Australia’s environment 
Asian Stocks Fall as AI Fears and Oil Surge Hit Markets 
Gold Surges Past $4400 on Crude Oil Rally; Bullish Trend Dominates 
China Industrial Output Beats Forecasts as Exports Support Growth 
Gold Prices Slip as Fed Rate Hike Looms, Treasury Yields Rise 
US Stock Futures Rise as Markets Brace for Fed Rate Hike 
BOJ Flags Import Costs and Yen Shocks as Persistent Inflation Risks 
Gold Slides to $4,262 as Hawkish Fed Rate Hike Triggers Technical Breakdown 
Add as a preferred source on Google
Data released earlier on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's CPI inflation came in at 1.8 percent y/y in July, largely in line with market expectations and compared to 1.9 percent in June. On a m/m basis, the CPI rose 0.2 percent in July, after four consecutive months of decline.
Food inflation fell 1.3pp to 3.3 percent y/y. Core-inflation (ex food) was up 0.2pp at 1.4 percent. Overall inflation fell due to lower food inflation, which was due to a drop in vegetable prices. Core inflation (ex-food) looked fairly stable. Vegetable prices, which rose a whopping 20 percent in the first half of the year, decelerated during the peak summer growing season contributing to the drop in the headline number.
China’s Producer Price Index fell 1.7 percent in July from a year earlier, which was a smaller decline than economists expected and compares with a 2.6 percent on-year drop in June. The index has lingered in deflationary territory for more than four years, but the decline has narrowed since the beginning of this year. China’s factory-gate deflation eased for the seventh straight month, signaling improving conditions for the nation’s manufacturers.
"Looking ahead, we expect headline consumer price inflation to begin to edge up again in the coming months. Non-food inflation is set to rise further as the drop in oil prices in the second half of 2015 provides a weaker base for comparison. Meanwhile, flooding in large parts of China last month, which damaged crops and killed livestock, will likely put upward pressure on food inflation in the short-run," said Capital Economics ' China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard.
People's Bank of China policymakers have an inflation target of around 3 percent. Price growth last year was 1.4 percent, a six-year low. Under-target mainland China inflation figure stoked expectations that the PBoC could move more aggressively to stimulus. Also, data released on Monday showed China’s imports fell by more than 12 percent in July, signaling weak domestic demand. And the official purchasing managers’ index in July dipped into contractionary territory for the first time since February.
“These price indicators are very stable compared to before,” said BBVA Research economist Xia Le. “But growth is still anemic. There’s still room for authorities to do more stimulus.”
Asian stocks rose to the highest level in almost a year as commodity producers rallied after Chinese data bolstered optimism that the world’s second-largest economy is stabilizing. China's CSI300 index closed up 0.7 pct at 3,256.98 points while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed down 0.1 pct at 22,465.61 points.
