MNI BRIEF: China's Nov CPI Falls To 8 Month Low; PPI Declines

China's November Consumer Price Index fell to an eight-month low of 1.6% y/y, in line with the median forecast, while slowing sharply from October's 2.1% y/y pace as Covid-19 outbreaks and a high base effect sapped the gain, data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Friday showed.

Pork prices, the main CPI driver, rose by 34.4% y/y, a decrease of 17.4 percentage points from the previous month, due to the release of pork reserves by the central government and the increasing supply of hogs. Fuel costs also eased and helped steer down the CPI, the NBS said.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.6% y/y, unchanged from last month. On a monthly basis, CPI fell 0.2%, reversing the prior month's 0.1% gain.

The producer price index eased for the 13th straight month from a high base to fall 1.3% y/y, compared to a 1.3% decline in October. The figure was better than the forecast 1.5% y/y fall, though it hit the lowest level since November 2020. On a monthly basis, PPI rose 0.1%, decelerating from the previous 0.2% gain.