MNI 5 THINGS: China Sept CPI Rises to Highest Point Since Feb

     BEIJING (MNI) - Here are five highlights from China's consumer price index

(CPI) and producer price index (PPI) data released by the National Bureau of

Statistics on Tuesday:

     - CPI growth in September came in at 2.5%, the highest since the 2.9% gain

recorded in February, in line with the median of 2.5% in an MNI survey. From

January to September, the country's consumer prices rose 2.1% y/y.

     - CPI rose 0.7% m/m in September, continuing to expand at the same rate as

in August. Increasing food prices, especially those of vegetable and fruits due

to season changes and extreme weather conditions in some areas, was the main

driver of the increase, contributing to 0.46 percentage points of the CPI

growth.

     - Food prices recorded growth of 2.4% m/m, unchanged from August; while

non-food items gained 0.3% m/m, up from the 0.2% m/m growth in August, driven by

the rising costs of education, rental prices, gasoline and diesel.

     - PPI gained 3.6% in September on a year-on-year basis, beating the median

estimate of 3.5% in an MNI survey. PPI rose by 0.6% m/m, up from the 0.4% gain

in August, indicating increasing pressures on businesses. The 3.46 percentage

point growth in ex-factory price is propped up by a 4.6% y/y gain in the price

of production materials, mainly construction materials, fuels, ferrous and

non-ferrous metals, and wires.

     - Price gains in crude, coal and other fuel processing production, coming

in at 4.0% m/m, as well as in crude and natural gas extraction, at 3.8% m/m,

fueled the PPI expansion in September, both of which were mainly driven by the

pick-up in international oil prices.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; tel: +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: flora.guo@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86-10-8532-5998; email: beijing@marketnews.com

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