China inflation rate stays below 1% in October - NHKニュース

China's consumer inflation stayed below 1 percent in October for the fourth straight month, a sign that personal spending remains weak.

The National Bureau of Statistics says the consumer price index rose 0.7 percent from a year earlier, 0.2 percentage points slower than in September.

Food prices were down by 2.9 percent. Furniture and home appliances fell 2.2 percent. Passenger cars were off by 1.9 percent.

But the costs of personal computers jumped 23 percent due to soaring prices of semiconductors.

Gasoline rose 22.4 percent amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the producer price index in October climbed 5.7 percent. The PPI is a gauge of the prices of goods at the factory gate.

The year-on-year rise was the fastest since June 2022. The main factors were higher prices of crude oil, as well as coal used for heating.