China’s economy edged back into deflation last month, dragged down by falling pork prices as policymakers struggled to reignite domestic demand during a property sector crisis and after the ending of strict pandemic controls, reports the Financial Times. The consumer price index fell 0.2% year on year in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday, compared with a 0.1% fall forecast by a Reuters poll of analysts. The CPI was unchanged in September.
Producer prices fell for a 13th consecutive month, dropping 2.6% year on year, against a 2.7% decline forecast by economists and following a 2.5% contraction in September. The NBS said the price of livestock and meat fell 17.9% overall, driven by a 30.1% decline in pork prices. Non-food prices rose 0.7%.
Chinese market reaction was muted on Thursday, with the CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed stocks flat and the renminbi weakening 0.1% against the dollar after the data release.
