Chinese Factory, July 27, 2015
China’s producer price index (PPI) for industrial products has dipped every month since February 2012. Above, an employee conducts tests at an antenna at a factory of the FiberHome Technologies Group in Wuhan in the Hubei province of China July 27, 2015. Reuters/China Daily

China’s consumer price index (CPI) advanced 1.6 percent and its producer price index (PPI) declined 5.4 percent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Sunday. Because of the balance between deflationary and inflationary pressures, the country’s fiscal and monetary authorities appear well-positioned to do even more in the way of economic and market stimulus, consistent with that provided by the People’s Bank of China in a series of moves made during the past year or so.

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China’s consumer price index rose 1.6 percent in July from the same month a year ago. International Business Times Chart/National Bureau Of Statistics Data

China’s CPI has been trending lower since January 2012, as shown by the above chart, but the country’s PPI has been trending even lower since the same month, as shown by the below chart. If rising consumer and producer prices indicate demand is greater than supply, then falling consumer and producer prices suggest supply is greater than demand.

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China’s producer price index fell 5.4 percent in July from the same month a year ago. International Business Times Chart/National Bureau Of Statistics Data

The downtrend in China’s PPI has been more pronounced than the downtrend in the country’s CPI since January 2012. That month, producer prices were up 0.7 percentage point. The following month, they were flat. And every single solitary month since then, they were down.

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Based on China's figures on gross domestic product in the first two quarters, the country appears unlikely to match the 7.4 percent growth recorded last year or even the goal of around 7.0 percent growth set for this year. International Business Times Chart/National Bureau Of Statistics Data

The People’s Bank of China already has done a great deal in moving the country’s monetary policy from loose to looser, but recent trends in the nation’s CPI, PPI and GDP may mean it might have to do even more along this line -- unless there is a complementary change in fiscal policy, which appears more unlikely than likely at present.

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Like other investing and trading vehicles associated with China’s equity market, the iShares China Large-Cap ETF and its underlying FTSE China 50 Index have had an extraordinarily volatile 2015. International Business Times Chart/Yahoo Finance Data

Meanwhile, China’s equity markets have had a roller-coaster year in 2015 to date, as shown in the above chart of one stock-market proxy well-known to many U.S.-based market participants, namely, the iShares China Large-Cap ETF, which tracks the FTSE China 50 Index. Because the index encompasses 50 of the largest and most liquid Chinese stocks listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, the ETF’s movements actually understate the volatility of the Chinese markets this year. Even so, its adjusted closing daily share price took a death-defying plummet to $40.53 Friday from $52.44 April 27, a plunge of -$11.91, or -22.71 percent.