World Economy

Chinese inflation tops expectations for October

Key Points
  • China CPI rose 1.9 percent in October from a year earlier
  • Producer prices rose 6.9 percent on-year
A man choosing chocolates in Shanghai, China.
Zhang Peng | LightRocket | Getty Images

China's consumer inflation rate accelerated to 1.9 percent in October from a year earlier, beating market expectations, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.

The consumer price index (CPI) had been expected to rise 1.8 percent on-year compared with an increase of 1.6 percent in September.

Producer prices rose 6.9 percent on-year, unchanged from previous month's increase.

Analysts had predicted the PPI would rise 6.6 percent.

China's economy recorded better-than-expected growth of nearly 6.9 percent through the first nine months of this year, buoyed largely by a recovery in its manufacturing and industrial
sectors thanks to strong government infrastructure spending, a resilient property market and unexpected strength in exports.

But property and construction activity, two of the economy's main growth drivers, are starting to slow under the weight of government measures to cool heated housing prices and higher borrowing costs.