It's the peak, for eight months now. In China, the consumer price index rose by 3,2% annually in October, after 3,1% in September. This was communicated by the national statistics office, the National Bureau of Statistics. However, this figure is slightly lower than both market expectations (3,3%) and the official government target for this year (3,5%).
The race for inflation is driven by food, with prices rising by 6,5% against 6,1% in September. Producer prices, on the other hand, recorded a drop of 1,5% against 1,3% in September. The consensus was for -1,4%. As regards industrial production, in October there was an increase of 10,3% from the previous 10,2% expected by analysts. Retail sales grew by 13,3%, as in September, slightly less than market estimates (+13,4%).
“Although inflation has been driven up mainly by the seasonality of food demand, it may still fuel market concerns about a possible central bank tightening of monetary conditions,” Li Huiyong, an economist at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities.
