Chinese factory activity hits 2-year low in Nov
2.7%
Rise in prices firms receive for goods and services in November
beijing — China’s factory prices rose in November at their slowest pace since October 2016 as domestic demand lost further momentum, piling pressure on policymakers to unveil more measures to support the economy.
Consumer inflation, meanwhile, eased from the previous month due to lower food prices, according to data published by the National Statistics Bureau on Sunday.
The producer price index (PPI), a measure of the prices businesses receive for their goods and services, rose 2.7 per cent in November from a year earlier, compared with a 3.3 per cent increase in October, according to the statistics bureau.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected producer inflation — also used by economists as a sign of the trends in industrial profits — would cool to 2.7 per cent last month.
On a monthly basis, the PPI fell 0.2 per cent, down from a 0.4 per cent gain in October.
China reported its weakest factory activity in over 2 years in November as new orders slowed, while profit growth for industrial firms softened for 6 months in a row.
The slowdown in domestic demand has added to the list of economic worries for China, which is mired in a trade war with the United States, its biggest trading partner.
Domestic demand for industrial goods and services has eased in recent months as Beijing’s multi-year campaign to curb corporate debt and risky lending practices has crimped capital spending and corporate investment.
Prices for raw materials increased 4.6 per cent last month from a year earlier, down from a 6.7 per cent rise in October. Price rises in the production and processing sector slowed in November from the previous month.