China's Import Prices Tumble in December 2008

The General Administration of Customs of the PRC issued a report on February 5, saying that China's import and export price indexes both continued to decline in December 2008. This was the fourth month in a row that saw a slump in the import price index. Growth in export prices fell slightly.

The price of China's imports in December was 11.9 percentage points lower than it was in November, experiencing negative growth for the first time since May 2006. China's import value in December shrank by 21.3 percent, but with a 10 percent fall in import prices, actual imports fell by 12.5 percent.

Among the import figures, the price of primary goods imports slumped by 26.4 percent, 26.5 percentage points lower than it was in November. The price of industrial goods imports dipped by 3.7 percent, 9.6 percentage points lower than the November figure. The import prices for consumer goods, intermediate goods and capital goods declined by 0.8 percent, 10.1 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively.

The price of exports rose by 5.1 percent year-on-year, 0.4 percentage points lower than it was in November, and its lowest rate in 2008. China's export value in December shrank by 2.8 percent, but with the 5.1 percent rise in export prices, actual exports fell by 7.5 percent.

The price of primary goods exports surged by 13.4 percent, 9 percentage points lower than the figure for November. The export price of industrial goods climbed by 5.3 percent, 0.3 percentage points lower than November. The export prices for consumer goods and intermediate goods spiked by 11.4 percent and 7.9 percent respectively, while the export price for capital goods slipped by 6.3 percent.

Source:People's Daily Online