China’s consumer prices edged 0.1% higher in June from a year earlier, ending a four-month run of deflation, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, quickened to 0.7%—its strongest pace in 15 months—helped by firmer industrial consumer-goods prices and government incentives aimed at boosting domestic demand. On a month-on-month basis, overall prices slipped 0.1%. Factory-gate prices remained under pressure, with the producer price index falling 3.6% from a year earlier, the steepest drop since late 2023. The divergence between mild consumer inflation and persistent PPI deflation underscores the economy’s uneven recovery and the lingering drag from weak upstream demand. Separate customs data showed external demand improving. Exports rose 5.8% in June compared with a year earlier, beating economists’ expectations, while imports climbed 1.1%, the first increase this year. That left the monthly trade surplus at $114.7 billion. In yuan terms, exports grew 7.2% and imports 2.3%. Shipments to the United States were still 16.1% lower than a year ago but the slide narrowed sharply from May’s 34% plunge, as manufacturers rushed orders ahead of an August deadline that could see tariffs reinstated. Sales to Southeast Asia continued to expand briskly. Monetary data released the same day point to sustained policy support: M2 money supply expanded 8.3% year on year, and banks issued ¥2.24 trillion in new loans, exceeding forecasts. Economists say the combination of subdued inflation and ongoing factory-gate deflation gives Beijing scope to maintain targeted stimulus while it negotiates a longer-term trade accord with Washington.