Prices of live pigs and eggs led the hike in China's corporate
goods prices in May, the People's Bank of China, the central bank,
reported on Tuesday.
The price of live pigs soared 58.5 percent year on year and that
of eggs 46.7 percent, according to a report on the corporate good
price index (CGPI) released by the central bank.
The CGPI, previously called the wholesale price index, reflects
price changes in products traded by corporations, and traces
overall price fluctuations together with the consumer price index
(CPI).
The index was up 5.1 percent year-on-year in May, said the
report.
Prices of farm produce rose 11.3 percent, with wheat up eight
percent, corn 16.5 percent and soybean 7.2 percent.
Ferrous metals prices rose 8.6 percent and that of steel up 7.2
percent.
The price of alumina was down 21.8 percent year-on-year but
still 3.3 percent higher than April. Crude oil prices dipped 5.3
percent over a year earlier yet were 10.3 percent higher than the
previous month.
Consumer prices also reached the highest monthly level in more
than two years, with the consumer price index, or CPI, a key
indicator of inflation, surging 3.4 percent, according to the
latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Growing inflation is also reflected in the producer prices index
(PPI), which grew 2.8 percent year-on-year in May, mainly driven by
a 3.6 percent rise in procurement prices of raw materials and
energy, according to NBS figures.
The State Council has urged local governments to keep a close
eye on pork supplies.
In Changchun, the capital city of Jilin Province in northeast
China, the local government has decided to offer monthly subsidies
of as much as 25 yuan to each of 46,000 low-income families for two
months.
East China's Shanghai Municipal government is considering
whether or not it should raise the previous 40-yuan subsidy to 45
yuan for each impoverished family in the city.
In Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong Province in the south,
poor families will enjoy an allowance of 20 yuan per household from
May to July.
Hubei, Hunan, Liaoning and other provinces are also considering
extra subsidies for low-income people.
(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2007)