China: Inflation accelerates in November from the prior month
Latest reading: Consumer prices were up 0.7% in annual terms in November, following a 0.2% increase in the prior month. November’s reading was the strongest since February 2024. Food prices rose for the first time in ten months, while non-food price pressures picked up slightly.
Finally, consumer prices fell 0.10% in November on a month-on-month basis, following a 0.20% rise in the previous month.
Panelist insight: Digging deeper into the data, Nomura analysts said:
“The improvement [in headline inflation] was entirely attributable to food prices, which were in turn due to lunar calendar mismatch effects and some extreme regional weather, while core CPI inflation remained unchanged despite the continued surge in gold prices. PPI deflation worsened in November for the first time in three months since the launch of the anti-involution campaign in July, reinforcing our view that supply-side reforms alone may not successfully reflate the economy. CPI inflation after excluding gold presents a more realistic yet less rosy picture as, by our calculations, one-third of November’s? core CPI inflation reading has almost nothing to do with local consumption.”