Posted on 12 Dec 2023
China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) both moved downward at a faster pace in November due to weaker demand, according to the latest data released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on December 9. Specifically, the CPI edged down by 0.5% both from a year ago and compared with October, while the PPI lost 3% on year and dipped 0.3% on month.
In November, the ample supply of agricultural products amid the warmer-than-usual weather across the country mainly caused China's food prices to post a drop of 0.9% from the prior month, much deeper than the average on-month decline of 0.1% for the same month in the past ten years, said Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician with the NBS. The decline in November's food prices on a yearly basis also extended to 4.2%, the data showed.
Domestic pork prices dropped more rapidly by 3% on month and slumped 31.8% on year in November as market supply of hogs available for slaughter increased, Dong noted.
Meanwhile, with the traditional slack period for travel approaching in winter, Chinese prices of air ticket and hotel accommodation fell significantly by 12.4% and 8.7% respectively on month in November, though they went up on year due to the low base of last year, according to NBS data.
Last month, China's core inflation that excludes food and energy slipped 0.4% on month but increased 0.6% on year, the data showed.
On the other hand, China's November PPI lost ground mainly due to the decline of oil prices globally and the waning demand for some industrial products, according to Dong.
For example, China's prices of oil and natural gas drilling industry dropped 2.8% on month and fell 3.3% on year in November, while those of oil, coal and other fuels processing sector fell 2.5% on month and 6.3% on year respectively, NBS data showed.
In the meantime, the country's ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing sector saw its ex-work prices edge up 1.1% on month, though the prices slid 2.3% on year, according to NBS data.
During January-November, China's CPI inched up 0.3% on year, while the PPI fell 3.1% compared with the same period last year, as NBS assessed.
Source:Mysteel Global
