China inflation falls to 1.7% in September, lowest rate of year
Beijing, Oct 15 (efe-epa).- The main indicator of inflation in China, the consumer price index (CPI), rose 1.7 percent year-on-year in September, the lowest rate so far this year, according to official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.
In August the index had risen 2.4 percent compared to the same month last year, so the September data represents a drop of 0.7 percentage points in the month-on-month comparison.
As usual for almost two years, the main reason for the variation in the CPI was pork, prices of which have suffered tremendous volatility due to the African swine fever epidemic, which has wiped out tens of millions of animals in China and resulted in serious problems in production.
The inflation rate easing is mainly due to the fact that pork meat rose by 25.5 percent year-on-year, something that, despite continuing to be the most marked rise among all the products analyzed by the NBS, represents a notable moderation compared to the 52.6 percent appreciation registered in August.
According to NBS statistician Dong Lijuan, this is due to the recovery of the national pig population and production, as well as the increase in meat reserves, which have facilitated supply.
Overall, food prices rose 7.9 percent, while those of other types of products remained at the same level as in September 2019.
The NBS also released Thursday the producer price index (PPI), an indicator of wholesale inflation, which fell 2.1 percent in September, ending three consecutive months of moderate decreases.
However, in comparison with the previous month, wholesale prices rose 0.1 percent. EFE-EPA
pk-vec/tw
