MNI BRIEF: China's Oct CPI Falls To 5 Month Low; PPI Declines

China's October Consumer Price Index fell to a five-month low of 2.1% y/y, slowing sharply from September's 2.8% y/y pace as consumer demand declined after the Golden Week holiday, data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Wednesday showed.

The October CPI fell short of the median forecast for a 2.4% y/y rate, as a high base effect also helped steer down the pace of inflation more than expected.

Pork prices, the main CPI driver, rose 15.8 percentage points to a 51.8% y/y pace, but this was partly offset by lower vegetable and fruit prices amid sufficient supply as well as an easing in fuel costs. (See China Data : CPI Slows More Than Expected, PPI Back Into Deflationary Territory)

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.6% y/y, unchanged from last month. On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.1%, slowing from the prior month's 0.3% gain.

The producer price index eased for the 12th straight month to fall 1.3%, reversing the 0.9% gain in September, mainly due to the high base. The figure was better than the -1.6% forecast and hit the lowest level since November 2020. On a monthly basis, PPI rose 0.2%, reversing the previous 0.1% fall.