MNI BRIEF: China Nov CPI Rises To 16-Mon High, PPI Starts Ease

China's November consumer price index quickened to 2.3% y/y from 1.5% in October, the highest since August 2020, though below the forecast 2.5%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.

The acceleration was mainly due to a lower comparison base last year, the NBS said. Core CPI, excluding food and energy prices, was up 1.2% y/y, down 0.1 pp from the previous month.

China's producer price index measuring factory gate prices eased to 12.9% from the over-26-year-high of 13.5% y/y in October, outshining a forecast of 12.1%. PPI remained flat on a monthly basis, compared to the 2.5% m/m gain reported last month.

PPI started to decelerate for the first time after continuously quickening in the past year, as the rapid rise in prices of coal, metals and other energy and raw materials has been initially curbed with policies to ensure supply kicking in.