China’s consumer inflation accelerated in December to the fastest pace in nearly three years, while factory-gate deflation remained entrenched, signaling that underlying demand in the economy stayed weak.
Consumer prices rose 0.8% from a year earlier, their highest level since February 2023, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday. The improvement followed a 0.7% climb in November and matched the economists’ expectations in a Reuters poll.
Factory-gate prices dipped 1.9% in December from a year earlier, better than the forecast 2% decline, extending the deflationary streak beyond three years. The drop followed a 2.2% fall in November.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile prices of food and energy, was up 1.2% year on year in December, unchanged from the growth in the prior month.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices grew 0.2%, above the expected 0.1% gain in a Reuters poll.
