MNI DATA IMPACT: China Sep CPI 19-Mon Low; PPI Falls Further

China's September inflation slowed further to 1.7% y/y from 2.4% in August, the lowest level in 19 months, as food costs moderated the impact of a rising CPI. Analysts had expected 1.9% y/y.

Factory-gate prices tumbled slightly and ended the rebound of the last three months.

Here are the key takeaways from data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday:

• On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.2%, also moderating from August's reading of 0.4%.
• Food prices decelerated to 7.9% y/y from 11.2% in August, accounting for 1.69 percentage points of the CPI gain.
• Pork prices, the main inflation driver in the past year, rose 25.5% y/y, sharply decelerating 27.1 percentage points from the previous month due to the base effect, recovered production and the increased release of meat reserves by the government.
• Vegetable prices rose above trend due to rainfall in some areas, growing 17.2% y/y in September, compared with August's 11.7% gain.
• The PPI was -2.1% y/y, down from the 2.0% fall in August. The figure was shy of the -1.9% forecast.
• The PPI grew 0.1% m/m, 0.2 percentage point slower than in the previous month, with prices in petroleum-related industries reversing rises and falling due to declining crude oil prices.