“China slipped into deflation for the first time in more than two years in July, official data showed Wednesday, as slowing domestic spending weighs on the post-Covid economic recovery.
The reading comes a day after news that the country suffered its biggest fall in exports since the early days of the pandemic, while imports tanked again as domestic and global demand fall away.
The Consumer Price Index, the main gauge of inflation, fell 0.3 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said, having flatlined in June.
While it was marginally better than the 0.4 percent decline forecast in a survey by Bloomberg, it marked the first drop since the beginning of 2021 and will add to pressure on authorities to provide much-needed support to the economy.”