Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Wednesday (July 9)
Your Daily & Trustworthy Updates on the Chinese Economy
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HOWDY! This is TIAN in Beijing, welcoming you to your Wednesday edition of Everything You Need to Know About China’s Economy.
DRIVING THE DAY, China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 0.1 percent year on year in June, reversing a 0.1 percent decline registered in the previous month.
The CPI in urban regions rose 0.1 percent year on year last month, while that in the rural regions was down 0.2 percent, according to the data released Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, climbed 0.7 percent year on year in June, up 0.1 percentage points compared to the rise registered in May, according to the NBS. "The core CPI also marked its highest level in 14 months," Dong said.
A breakdown of the CPI data showed that food prices in the world's second-largest economy declined 0.3 percent year on year last month, non-food prices rose 0.1 percent, consumer goods prices dropped 0.2 percent, while service prices rose 0.5 percent.
In the first half of 2025, the country's CPI declined by 0.1 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the NBS.
On a monthly basis, the CPI decreased by 0.1 percent in June, according to the data. However, Dong said that the decline narrowed by 0.1 percentage points compared to that in May.
Wednesday's data also showed that China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 3.6 percent year on year in June. The decline widened by 0.3 percentage points compared to the PPI data in May.
On a month-on-month basis, the PPI dropped 0.4 percent in June. In the first half of 2025, the PPI decreased by 2.8 percent year-on-year, according to the data.
MEANWHILE, China's FDI inflow tops 4.7 trln yuan since 2021
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China totaled 4.7 trillion yuan (about 657 billion U.S. dollars) from 2021 through May 2025, an official said on Wednesday.
The figure surpassed the total amount recorded during the entire 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), Zhou Haibing, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference.
ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, China's energy consumption per unit of GDP decreases 11.6 pct in 4 years.
China's energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by 11.6 percent in the first four years of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said Wednesday.
This reduction is equivalent to cutting 1.1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, nearly 50 percent of the European Union's total carbon emissions in 2024, according to Zheng.
"China's actions fully demonstrate the responsibility of a major country," Zheng said.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Chinese stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.13 percent to 3,493.05 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.06 percent lower at 10,581.8 points.
The combined turnover of these two indices stood at 1.51 trillion yuan (about 211.1 billion U.S. dollars), up from 1.45 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.
The banking sector and stocks related to new-type urbanization were among the top performers, while stocks in the insurance, nonferrous metal and wind power sectors led the losses.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 0.16 percent to close at 2,184.67 points.
Hong Kong stocks close lower
Hong Kong stock market ended lower Wednesday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 1.06 percent to close at 23,892.32 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid 1.28 percent to close at 8,597.27 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index decreased 1.76 percent to close at 5,231.99 points.
Chinese yuan weakens to 7.1541 against USD Wednesday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 7 pips to 7.1541 against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
China's benchmark interbank gold prices higher Wednesday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 772.00 yuan per gram, up 4.76 yuan from the previous trading day.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above was up 3.73 yuan from the previous trading day to 771.48 yuan.
AT THE END OF TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES:
No.1 soybean futures closed higher on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE).
The most active No.1 soybean contract for September 2025 delivery gained 21 yuan (about 2.94 U.S. dollars) to close at 4,111 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of five listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 126,540 lots, with a turnover of about 5.18 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed higher on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active iron ore contract for September 2025 delivery gained 5 yuan (about 70 U.S. cents) to close at 736.5 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of 11 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 337,831 lots, with a turnover of about 24.69 billion yuan.
Cotton futures closed higher Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for September 2025 delivery gained 70 yuan (about 9.78 U.S. dollars) to close at 13,830 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 305,494 lots with a turnover of 21.01 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed higher Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for September 2025 delivery gained 35 yuan (about 4.89 U.S. dollars) to close at 5,779 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 183,878 lots with a turnover of 10.54 billion yuan.
About the Newsletter:
Ran by TIAN Dongdong, this newsletter features daily and trustworthy content on China's economy. Having worked in Brussels, London, Cairo, and Tripoli for Chinese media as correspondent for several years, TIAN is now based in Beijing.