China’s consumer prices back in decline as recovery wobbles
China’s consumer prices swung lower in October, as key gauges of domestic demand pointed to weakness not seen since the pandemic, while factory-gate deflation deepened, casting doubts over the chances of a broad-based economic recovery.
The consumer price index (CPI) dropped 0.2% in October from a year earlier and slipped 0.1% from September, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday.
The headline figure was dragged by a further slump in pork prices, down 30.1%, speeding up from a 22% slide in September, amid an oversupply of pigs and weak demand.
**Usual caveats apply when dealing with Chinese data