An undated editorial photo of Chinese Yuan cash notes and the People’s Republic of China flag.
Javier Ghersi | moment | Getty Images
China’s consumer prices remained flat in September while annual declines in factory gate prices slowed for a third month, underscoring the “tortuous” nature of the post-coronavirus growth recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.
The consumer price index remained unchanged on an annual basis in September, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Friday, below a Reuters poll’s median estimate of a 0.2% increase. The CPI rose slightly by 0.1% in August, the first year-on-year rise in three months.
The producer price index fell 2.5% from a year earlier, weaker than expectations for a 2.4% decline after falling 3% in August. The fall in factory prices was the smallest in seven months.
The subdued prices underscore what China’s leaders described as a “difficult” economic recovery after the country emerged from its draconian zero-Covid lockdowns late last year. China is a clear outlier among the world’s major economies, most of which are still struggling with stubbornly high inflation after the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In fact, just a few months earlier, China was on the brink of deflation. Despite falling producer prices in September, the annualized decline is still the 12th consecutive monthly decline.
Weaker food prices
Weaker food prices weighed heavily on consumer prices in September. Overall, food prices fell by 3.2% compared to the previous year.
Notably, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the price of pork – a key staple in the Chinese diet – fell 22% last month compared to a year ago. This is because the price of livestock and meat fell by 12.8% overall and the price of fresh vegetables fell by 6.4%.
The bureau released information showing that China’s national consumer prices rose 0.4% overall in the first nine months of this year compared to last year.
This is a developing story. Please check back for further updates.
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