Producer prices in China rise at fastest pace since June 2022, beating expectations

Citizens are shopping at a supermarket in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, on March 9, 2024. Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesChina's producer price index climbed at its fastest pace in over four years, rising 5% in September as higher fuel prices pushed up costs for businesses. The increase was higher than the 4.5% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and sharply up from the 3.8% seen in the previous month. China's National Bureau of Statistics said higher prices were also seen in the country's coal sector, due to increased demand for coal for winter heating, temporary tight supply in major coal-producing areas, and expectations of rising international coal prices.Consumer prices saw a 0.9% rise, marginally missing expectations of 1%, but up from 0.8% in the month before.The increase in the consumer inflation rate was due to gasoline prices, which climbed 16.6% and contributed approximately 0.47 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI increase, according to Dong Lijuan, chief statistician of the Urban Division at the NBS.This was partially offset by a wider fall in food prices, which declined 1.7% and pulled down the CPI by 0.29 percentage points, Dong added.The cor...