China's economic planner predicts an increase of 1.8 percent on the country's consumer price index (CPI) for the year 2018.
However, this CPI inflation rate is expected to fluctuate only within the range set by the government for this year, as stated in this report.
According to Guo Liyan from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the inflation has nothing to do with what is going on in the international market, particularly that of the country's recent trade spat with the US, under Pres. Donald J. Trump's administration.
If there is, Liyan assures that it will only just have a minimal impact on the current domestic prices.
Instead, the NDRC attributes the major effect of the sudden price increase of oil barrels in the international market to China's CPI.
CPI is a critical point of reference for inflation directly affecting the average consumer. It examines the weighted average of prices of goods and services, including transportation, food and medical care.
For the first six months this year, the country has already listed a two percent CPI increase. However, the growth rate could take a halt in the third and the last quarter of 2018, Guo said via the agency's official WeChat account.
This echoes to an earlier report from Reuters saying that the price index figure is expected to stabilize as the country enters the second half of the fiscal year.
"The market in general thinks the macro environment is stable and market supply is sufficient," NDRC said in an earlier statement quoted by the global news outlet.
"The overall price level will continue to stabilize and it's unlikely that prices will rise significantly."
The Xi Jinping administration has already made it clear on their aim to maintain an annual CPI growth at only 3 percent per year - a feat actually achieved in 2017.
In contrast to this favorable development is the ballooning rate of the producer price index (PPI). This time around, the index looks into the entire domestic market of raw goods and services. Comprising PPI are sectors such as agriculture, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, and mining.
A report points out that the country's PPI may hit a 3.5 percent increase rate later in 2018.
But all in all, China's market performance is still deemed stable, and will remain so in the second half of the year.
In a previous report, the country has registered 6.6 percent increase rate in its overall economic growth performance. This is a tad slower than last year's 6.9 percent growth rate, but the International Monetary Fund believes that China's economy "remains robust" due to "strong domestic momentum, recovering global trade, and significant reform progress."
