NBS: China's Oct CPI gains 0.2%, PPI falls 2.1% YoY

The rises in CPI were mainly driven up by China's pro-consumption policies and strong consumer demand during the country's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday over October 1-8, according to Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician with NBS.

The prices for hotel accommodation and air tickets in October jumped by 8.6% and 4.5% on month respectively, as travel activities improved significantly around the week-long holiday. Compared with the same month last year, the prices also rose 2.8% and 8.9% respectively, the NBS data showed.

Meanwhile, China's food prices ticked up by 0.3% on month in October, marking a slight contrast to a seasonal decline usually seen in the month, according to the data. Specifically, the prices for fresh vegetables and fruits increased by 4.3% and 1.2% from September, though they were still 7.3% and 2% lower on year.

Excluding food and energy prices, China's core inflation in October expanded 0.2% on month, and on a yearly basis, it rose by 1.2% - the highest growth since March 2024, NBS data showed.

In October, China's PPI registered its first positive on-month growth since last December, and the on-year drop also narrowed for the third month straight, thanks to the improved demand in some industrial sectors in China, according to Dong.

For example, Chinese prices of coal mining and processing advanced 1.6% on month in October, though they slumped 15.6% on year, according to NBS data.

The strengthening prices of global industrial products such as nonferrous metals also provided upward momentum for Chinese prices, Dong noted.

Last month, Chinese prices for nonferrous metals manufacturing and processing increased 2.4% on month and leapt by 6.8% on year, NBS data showed.

During January-October this year, China's CPI dipped 0.1% compared with the same period last year, while its PPI dropped 2.7% on year, according to NBS statistics.

Written by Anthea Shi, shihui@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com