China Herald: Inflation overtakes luxury goods growth

Rupert Hoogewerf

For the first time in a decade growth of luxury goods in China has stalled, as inflation is larger than the recorder growth, says China's rich list founder Rupert Hoogewerf, and composer of the China Luxury Goods Price Index in the Shanghai Daily. Causes: the fight against corruption and the economic downturn.

The Shanghai Daily:

THE cost of luxury goods and services increased at their slowest pace for seven years last month because of China's economic slowdown and the government's anti-extravagance campaign, the Hurun Research Institute said in its latest report.

China's Luxury Consumer Price Index, which has monitored price changes in 77 luxury items since 2007, rose 1.52 percent in June from a year earlier, 3.42 percentage points lower than the increase in the same period of last year. It was the first time the index had been outpaced by China's inflation rate, which rose 2.7 percent in the same period.

"Driven by consumer demand, luxury prices were increasing fiercely in the past few years, But that momentum seems to have come to a halt this year. The main reasons are China's economic slowdown and the fight against corruption," said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun's founder and chief researcher.

More in the Shanghai Daily.

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