China’s consumer price index rose 2.8% in September from a year ago as food prices, especially pork, rose.
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BEIJING – China’s consumer prices rose in September at the fastest pace in more than two years as pork prices rose, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.
The consumer price index rose 2.8% last month from a year ago, matching expectations from a Reuters poll.
That was the fastest pace since the 3.3% year-on-year increase in April 2020, according to Wind Information.
Most of the gains came from continued pork prices, a 36% increase year-on-year, the biggest gain since August 2020, Wind data show. Pork, a staple food in China, has a significant share in the country’s official consumer price index.
However, other indicators show consumer demand is declining.
Excluding food and energy, the so-called core CPI rose just 0.6% from a year ago – the slowest pace since March 2021, according to Wind.
China’s producer price index rose 0.9 percent in September from a year ago, below a Reuters estimate of 1 percent. The index rose the slowest since January 2021, according to Wind.
Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research at Greater China, JLL, said China’s weak core CPI and disappointing drop in the producer price index reflect weak Chinese consumer demand. and reduced overseas demand.
The producer price index is expected to continue falling and is likely to enter negative territory in the coming months, he said.
Impact on US inflation
Changes in China’s producer price index tend to precede similar changes in the US by about a month or two, Francoise Huang, senior economist at Allianz Trade, said in a phone interview. phone earlier this week.
She said China’s weaker economy could help central banks in other countries that are fighting domestic inflation.
After decades of high prices, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates five times this year and is expected to raise rates again in three weeks.
