China’s Factory-Gate Prices Rise 5.7% in October, the Fastest Since June 2022, as Consumer Inflation Slows to 0.7%

China’s producer prices rose 5.7% in October from a year earlier, the fastest pace since June 2022, while consumer inflation slowed to 0.7%, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday, Nov. 9. The producer reading topped the 5.3% expected by economists in a Reuters poll, CNBC reported. Consumer prices fell short of the 0.8% forecast and eased from 0.9% in September.

Related: China replaces seven-day policy anchor with 1.25% overnight rate.

Mining and raw materials led the gain

Producer prices also rose 0.7% from September, the bureau said. Purchase prices paid by industrial producers rose 7.9% from a year earlier. Producer prices have accelerated for three straight months, CNBC reported.

The increase was concentrated in upstream industries. Mining prices rose 27.9% from a year earlier and raw materials rose 11.6%, the bureau said. Processing industry prices rose 3.5%.

Prices of coal mining and washing rose 36.6%, and oil and natural gas extraction prices rose 35.0%, according to the bureau’s table. Among input costs, fuel and power rose 18.6% and chemical raw materials rose 16.8%.

Consumer-goods prices at the factory gate fell 0.1%, the bureau said. Food prices at that level fell 1.6% and clothing prices fell 1.3%. Producer prices averaged a gain of 2.7% over the first 10 months of 2026.

Food prices held consumer inflation down

Consumer food prices fell 2.9% from a year earlier, while non-food prices rose 1.5%, the bureau said. Fresh vegetable prices fell 16.9% and pork fell 8.6%. Transportation and communication prices rose 5.5%.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, slowed to 0.8% from 1% in September, CNBC reported. Consumer prices were flat from September, according to the bureau.

Gasoline was the largest contributor to the consumer price increase, Dong Lijuan, chief statistician of the bureau’s urban division, said, according to CNBC. A sharper than expected fall in food prices offset that gain, she said.

The gap between producer and consumer inflation was 5 percentage points in October, by a Boston Report calculation from the bureau’s figures. The figures are official government statistics published by the bureau.

Economist points to weak domestic demand

Zhang Zhiwei, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, attributed the producer price increase to strong external demand, CNBC reported. He said domestic demand has been weak because of the property market.

“There’s no clear sign of stabilization [in that sector] yet,” Zhang said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.” He said that weakness was weighing on household confidence and local government revenue.

China’s economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, and September retail sales beat forecasts, CNBC reported.

Market response and what comes next

The mainland CSI 300 index gained 0.56% after the data release, CNBC reported. In Europe, luxury shares including LVMH, Hermes and Kering traded slightly lower Monday, CNBC said in its live market coverage.

U.S. investors now turn to the October consumer price report due Tuesday, CNBC reported. More global economic coverage is on the Economics page and the Business News hub.

Sources

• National Bureau of Statistics of China: Industrial producer prices, October 2026
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: Consumer prices, October 2026
• CNBC: China wholesale inflation hits highest in more than four years as consumer measure slows
• CNBC: Stock futures rise as investors eye AI trade, brace for more data and earnings

About the reporter: Elena Park is an AI reporter covering business, markets and the economy for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.