China's October CPI Falls 0.2%... Deflation Concerns

China's consumer prices in October fell by 0.2% compared to last year, raising concerns about deflation.

On the 9th, the National Bureau of Statistics of China announced that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October fell 0.2% year-on-year and 0.1% month-on-month. This figure is below both the previous month's flat growth rate (0%) and the forecast (-0.1%).

Food prices dropped by 4.0%, while non-food prices rose by 0.7%. Commodity prices fell by 1.1%, and service prices increased by 1.2%. The cumulative CPI up to October rose 0.4% compared to the same period last year.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for October, released on the same day, fell 2.6% year-on-year. Although the decline was larger than the previous month’s (-2.5%), it exceeded the forecast (-2.8%).