China’s consumer prices picked up pace in November

BEIJING, China — China’s consumer prices rose last month at their fastest pace since February 2024, official data showed Wednesday, following an extended period of deflationary pressure in the world’s second-largest economy.

The consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, rose 0.7 percent year-on-year in November, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

READ: China’s economy under pressure as consumer slump deepens

The reading was in line with a Bloomberg forecast and higher than the 0.2 percent increase recorded in October.

“The expansion … was mainly driven by a shift from declines to increases in food prices,” NBS statistician Dong Lijuan said in a statement interpreting the data.

Sluggish spending

Beijing has been battling sluggish domestic spending for several years, with a prolonged crisis in the property sector and lingering effects from the COVID pandemic weighing on consumer sentiment.

READ: China says economy grew at slowest pace in a year in Q3

In a sign of persisting woes, the producer price index (PPI), which measures the prices of goods before they enter wholesale or distribution, fell by 2.2 percent year-on-year in November, NBS data showed.

The drop in factory gate prices was slightly faster than the 2-percent decline forecast by Bloomberg and the 2.1 percent decrease recorded in October.

READ: China’s exports grew 5.9% in Nov; US shipments dropped 29%

China’s monthly PPI has been in negative territory for more than three years, reflecting weak demand and a global oversupply of manufactured goods from the country.