China PPI at 6-Month High

China's producer inflation accelerated to a six-month high in June, lifted by strong commodity prices and threatening to put more pressure on the country's exporters as a trade war escalates between Washington and Beijing, Nekkei reported. Annual consumer inflation also edged up as food prices rose at a faster pace, official data showed on Tuesday. But retail price pressures remain modest, allowing the central bank to remain more focused on ways to support the slowing economy. The producer price index—a gauge of industrial profitability—rose by a stronger-than-expected 4.7% in June from a year earlier, compared with a 4.1% increase in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. China's producer inflation has now picked up for three months in a row after easing in late 2017, though month-on-month growth dipped to 0.3% in June. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected June producer inflation would pick up to 4.5%, buoyed by a recent recovery in global commodity prices.