Core Viewpoints - The upstream price increase has a positive contribution to PPI month-on-month, but the low capacity utilization in the mid and downstream sectors continues to drag down PPI significantly [2][10][70] - In August, PPI showed marginal improvement, primarily driven by a notable rebound in commodity prices, with PPI month-on-month remaining at 0% [2][10][70] - The overall PPI month-on-month is 0%, mainly due to low capacity utilization in the mid and downstream sectors, which prevents the full transmission of upstream price increases [2][10][70] PPI Analysis - In August, coal and steel prices continued to rise, with coal mining (2.8%), black mining (2.1%), and black rolling (1.9%) showing month-on-month increases [2][10][70] - The international oil price decline negatively impacted domestic oil prices, with copper prices also contributing negatively to PPI [2][10][70] - The mid and downstream sectors are experiencing significant price reductions, with PPI declines in food and automotive sectors both at -0.3% [2][10][70] CPI Analysis - In August, CPI year-on-year dropped to -0.4%, influenced by a high base and weak food prices, with food CPI down 4.3% [3][23][50] - The core CPI continues to expand, with core goods CPI rising 0.1 percentage points to 0.9%, driven by high gold prices and demand from the third batch of national subsidies [3][29][71] - Core service CPI increased slightly, supported by summer travel and medical service reforms, while rental CPI remains weak due to high youth unemployment [4][33][62] Future Outlook - Commodity prices may continue to rise, but the oversupply in the mid and downstream sectors may constrain the transmission of upstream price increases, leading to weak inflation throughout the year [4][41][72] - It is expected that by the end of the year, PPI year-on-year may recover to a maximum of -2.1% [4][41][72] - CPI is anticipated to remain negative in the third quarter, with a potential turnaround in the fourth quarter due to ongoing policies supporting service consumption and demand recovery [4][41][72]