Forexpros – Consumer price inflation in China eased slightly less-than-expected in December, as food prices remained elevated, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said consumer price inflation rose by a seasonally adjusted 4.1% in December, easing from 4.2% in November.
Analysts had expected Chinese CPI to rise by 4.0% in December.
Month-on-month, the consumer price index rose 0.3%.
Politically sensitive food costs accelerated to 9.1% from November’s 8.8%. The December rise in Chinese food costs was driven by a 21.3% increase in the price of pork, the country’s staple meat, and a 6.9% jump in grain prices.
The report also showed that producer price inflation rose by a 1.7% in December, slowing from 2.7% in November and broadly in line with expectations.
Following the release of the data, Asian stock markets were broadly lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.75%.
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