NBS: China's Nov CPI rises 0.7%, PPI falls 2.2% YoY

China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) in November increased by 0.7% compared with the same month last year, though from October it dropped 0.1%, while the country's Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.1% on month but fell 2.2% on year, according to the latest data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.

Last month, the country's CPI registered its largest on-year growth since March 2024, mainly driven by the strengthening of food prices, noted Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician with NBS.

China's food prices edged up 0.2% on year in November, reversing the 2.9% drop logged in October, NBS data showed. Specifically, the prices for fresh vegetables, beef, and mutton jumped by 14.5%, 6.2%, and 3.7% respectively on year.

However, last month's CPI reading retreated slightly on a monthly basis, as strong consumer demand manifested during early October's week-long national holiday gradually cooled in November, Dong observed. For example, Chinese prices for hotel accommodation and air tickets slumped by 10.4% and 10.2% respectively on month in November.

Excluding food and energy prices, China's core inflation in November rose by 1.2% on year, though it still dipped 0.1% on month, according to NBS data.

For factory-gate prices, China's PPI posted the second straight on-month increase in November, buoyed by the firm domestic demand as well as the strengthening of global prices for industrial products, according to Dong. However, the index's 2.2% on-year fall last month widened slightly from the 2.1% drop recorded in the prior month, mainly due to a high base in November 2024, she added.

China's coal mining and processing prices increased by 4.1% on month in November, as the thermal coal consumption in North China expanded amid growing heating demand in winter, although compared with the same month last year, the prices remained 11.8% lower, NBS data showed.

Meanwhile, domestic prices for nonferrous metals manufacturing and processing maintained upward momentum, up by 2.1% on month and 7.8% on year, respectively, in line with the rising nonferrous prices in the global market.

During January-November this year, China's CPI stood unchanged from 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