{"text":[[{"start":7.56,"text":"China’s consumer price index last month rose at its slowest rate since January while factory-gate price growth decelerated, in a sign that the inflationary impact of the war in Iran is easing."}],[{"start":19.2,"text":"The CPI added 0.5 per cent year-on-year in July, official figures showed on Sunday, below forecasts of 0.8 per cent and June’s growth of 1 per cent. China’s National Bureau of Statistics pointed to slowing year-on-year increases in gasoline prices as a major factor in the weaker CPI rate."}],[{"start":39.88,"text":"Producer price growth moderated to 3.5 per cent from 4.1 per cent a month earlier, the first such moderation since the outbreak of war in Iran which jolted the index back into positive growth territory after years of deflation."}],[{"start":53.94,"text":"The closure of the Strait of Hormuz following US and Israeli attacks on Iran prompted surging oil prices, which have since retreated from earlier highs."}],[{"start":63.04,"text":"Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, on Friday was trading at $83.55 a barrel compared with more than $110 in April."}],[{"start":73.26,"text":"The latest data follows recent figures highlighting concerns over economic momentum in China, which has for years grappled with deflation amid a drawn-out property slowdown."}],[{"start":83.6,"text":"The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index in July fell for the first time in five months and a separate PMI gauge covering services and construction hit its lowest level since 2022."}],[{"start":96.4,"text":"Retail sales, a measure of consumer spending that covers goods and catering, declined in May for the first time since 2022 and added just 1 per cent in June, while fixed-asset investment, another monthly gauge, is down 5.7 per cent year-on-year in the first half."}],[{"start":113.54,"text":"Official GDP growth in the second quarter was 4.3 per cent, below an official annual target that was already the lowest in decades."}],[{"start":121.84,"text":"At a July meeting of China’s Politburo, a top decision-making body of the Communist Party, leaders pledged to accelerate fiscal spending but stopped short of unveiling any major stimulus."}],[{"start":132.44,"text":"Against pressure at home, China’s exports have grown sharply this year and added nearly 24 per cent year-on-year in July. China’s trade surplus in goods is now above the same period in 2025, when it ultimately reached a record high of $1.2tn, figures on Friday showed."}],[{"start":149.96,"text":"China’s National Bureau of Statistics cited price increases in oil and gas extraction, fuel processing and chemical raw materials for the PPI index."}],[{"start":159.36,"text":"It added that gasoline prices, which rose 1 per cent year-on-year, fell 11 per cent month-on-month. China’s CPI edged 0.1 per cent lower in July compared with the previous month."}],[{"start":176.12,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1786274185_4837.mp3"}