China's consumer inflation softens in October

BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, edged down 0.2 percent year on year in October, official data showed Thursday.

On a monthly basis, the CPI dipped 0.1 percent from the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

NBS chief statistician Dong Lijuan attributed the fall to sufficient supply of agricultural products and softening consumer demand after the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday early last month.

Weak food prices were a big drag on the CPI. Food prices fell 4 percent year on year in October, compared with a 3.2 percent decline in September. The price of pork, a staple meat in China, dived 30.1 percent from a year earlier, with the pace of decrease quickening from September's decrease of 22 percent.

Non-food prices rose 0.7 percent year on year in October, according to the NBS data.

On a month-on-month basis, food prices went down 0.8 percent from September, which Dong said is the main reason behind the monthly decline in CPI.

The core CPI, deducting food and energy prices, went up 0.6 percent year on year last month, with the pace of increase moderating slightly compared with September.

The average CPI from January to October increased 0.4 percent year on year, according to the NBS.

Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, said October's softening CPI came as the country's market supplies exceeded demand, which resulted from a mild domestic demand recovery while external demand stayed weak.

Wen said he expects the CPI to resume mild increases early next year.

Thursday's data also showed that the country's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 2.6 percent year on year in October.

On a monthly basis, the October PPI stayed flat, following price fluctuations of the international crude oil and non-ferrous metals as well as a high base in the same period last year, NBS chief statistician Dong said.