BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s consumer prices in September rose at the fastest pace since April 2020, mainly driven by food prices, limiting the scope for more central bank easing to prop up a faltering economy hit by COVID-19 restrictions and a property sector slump.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.8% from a year earlier, quickening from a 2.5% increase in August, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Friday, in line with forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.
The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.9% year-on-year from 2.3% growth a month earlier, and compared with a forecast of 1.0%.
The world’s second-largest economy barely grew in the June quarter and has struggled to regain traction amid protracted pandemic restrictions, a severe slump in the property market and softening exports.
(Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
