Source: Bloomberg

After eating the landslide of the property market and employment, Chinese consumers have ushered in a new blow -the cost of public cause costs has risen in recent years.

According to Haitong International statistics, at least 125 regions nationwide have announced the increase in natural gas prices since June last year, with an average increase of about 10%.According to official notices from various places, water prices and electricity prices in many places across the country have also risen.

It is not a good time to increase prices in public.According to the data released last Friday, the total retail sales of Chinese social consumer goods hit the slowest growth rate since the termination of the epidemic control at the end of 2022, and the demand for automobiles, clothing and shoes in April decreased significantly.

The rise in the cost of public utilization may inhibit other services and commodity consumption.To make matters worse, the National Railway Group of China will also increase the fares of several popular high -speed rail lines from June by more than 20%.

"This is a heavy blow to people's emotions," Xing Zhaopeng, a senior Chinese strategist at the Australian and New Bank, said that Chinese families have suffered from pain due to their income prospects, and now they have encountered rising living costs.

China's local government to promote the price increase of hydropower, just as the real estate crisis leads to a land transfer fund -a significant reduction of a large source of income from local governments.Under the pressure of $ 9 trillion, their choices are limited.

Liu Boyang, director of the research department invested by Xinyin (Hong Kong), said that "(price increase) is to fill the financial gap".

Although China's overall inflation level is low -the April consumer price index rose only 0.3% year -on -year -but the danger is that rising public cause costs may have an impact on people's confidence.Thanks to a large number of government subsidies, Chinese families have been enjoying low hydropower and gas prices for a long time.

Reduce dosage

The water costs of residents in some parts of Shanghai have risen by 50%.Electricity prices in some parts of China -electricity bills are usually the head of household water and electricity expenditure.

June Yang, a manager of a school in Guangzhou, has begun to tell her two daughters to shorten the bath time to save costs and often remind them to turn off the lights when they leave the room.

"These necessities in daily life should be used, but we try not to waste it," she said.YANG and her husband usually pay about 600 yuan ($ 83) a monthly water and gas costs. She expects this fee will rise from this month.

However, Tianfeng Securities estimates that hydropower and gas costs account for only about 5%of ordinary family expenditures.UBS chief Chinese economist Wang Tao said that this means that consumption is unlikely to fall sharply.

At the same time, decision makers are adopting action to stimulate consumption, including the introduction of consumer goods to provide subsidies to promote consumer goods last month to provide subsidies.The Chinese government led by Xi Jinping also announced the most powerful real estate market rescue measures to date last Friday.Economists still believe that Beijing will achieve a 5%economic growth goal this year.

However, for consumers who are angry with the price of water and electricity every month, these cannot bring much comfort.

The anger on the Internet

In Guangzhou, the local government has given a reason to increase water prices recently: improving infrastructure and encouraging water saving.But when they held a public hearing on this issue, residents expressed their dissatisfaction.

In this city with a population of more than 18 million, Guangzhou residents questioned the selection of 17 hearings.

One of these representatives is a restaurant owner. He supports residents' water expenses higher than the company's proposal.According to local media reports, after the hearing, his shops obtained a difference in bad reviews on an APP.A comment said: "Why do we add water prices? This kind of restaurant has no conscience."

Enterprises also face price pressure.They must now face another predicament: whether to bear the increase in operating costs, or pass it on to customers who may have suffered from daily expenses.