According to data released by the Chinese customs, the country's consumer price index (CPI) in March rose 1.5% from the same period last year. The increase was 0.6 percentage points higher than that in the previous month. The figure was flat compared to the previous month. The producer price index (PPI) in March rose 8.3% on year. The increase was 0.5 percentage points smaller than that in the previous month. The figure was up 1.1% compared to the month before.

With COVID-19 spreading in some parts of China and product prices rising in the international market, the CPI was unchanged from the previous month but rose compared to the same period last year. High product prices also led to an increase in the PPI from the previous month although the increase compared to the same period last year was smaller.

Overall, both the CPI and PPI in March rose on year, an indication that persistent global inflation is having an increasing impact on prices of goods in the country.