CPI seen increasing by 1.8% in December

China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.8 percent year-on-year in December, slightly up from 1.7 percent for November, official data showed Wednesday.

The pickup was driven by a fast increase in non-food prices, which rose 2.4 percent year-onyear, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website.

Prices for medical products and services rose 6.6 percent year-on-year and housing-related prices rose 2.8 percent, while educational, cultural and entertainment prices rose 2.1 percent, the bureau said.

In 2017, the CPI rose 1.6 percent year-on-year, faster than 1.5 percent for the first 11 months of last year but slower than the 2 percent for 2016, the data showed.

The annual figure is well below the government’s target to hold the CPI increase at around 3 percent.

China Galaxy Securities said that food prices in 2018 will hold steady while non-food prices, especially services prices, will go up.

The annual CPI rise will reach 2 percent this year, the brokerage firm said.