China's producer prices fall sharply in October

China’s producer price index (PPI) rose 6.6% year-on-year in October, down sharply from 9.1% in September, XFN Asia reported. Producer prices were up 8.2% for the 10 months to October compared with 8.3% for the nine months to September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. A deceleration in producer prices was widely expected given the recent sharp price drops across a range of commodities, including oil and steel. Jing Ulrich, chairman of China equities at J.P. Morgan, noted that a falling PPI was a double-edged sword, making life easier for downstream industries that consume raw materials but eroding the margins of upstream producers. Ulrich expects a further moderation in the consumer price index (CPI) for October. In September, the CPI rose 4.6% year-on-year, the fifth successive monthly decline.