China’s factory inflation for November slows
BEIJING China's factory inflation slowed last month, a sign that demand remains weak amid Beijing's trade war with the US, while consumer inflation also flagged, official data showed yesterday.
The Producer Price Index - an important barometer of the industrial sector that measures the cost of goods at the factory gate - climbed 2.7 per cent on-year last month.
It ticked down from 3.3 per cent the previous month, recording its weakest growth since October 2016, while in line with the forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.
A slowdown in factory gate inflation reflects sluggish demand.
The Consumer Price Index - a key measure of retail inflation - rose 2.2 per cent year-on-year, compared with 2.5 per cent in October.
Food prices, up 2.5 per cent, rose quicker than non-food prices, which were up 2.1 per cent. Energy prices fell over the month.
"The broad moderation in inflationary pressures appears to be a reflection of weaker demand growth over the past half a year and should alleviate concerns about possible stagflation," said Goldman Sachs Economic Research in a report.
The weak figures come as China's trade war with the US continues to bite.
The growth of China's trade with the rest of the world slowed last month, with exports up 5.4 per cent and imports up 3 per cent on-year - compared with 15.6 per cent and 21.4 per cent respectively in October. - AFP
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