China’s factory gate inflation slips

Beijing: China´s factory inflation eased in October owing to slackening demand and a trade war with the United States, while consumer price inflation held steady, official data showed Friday.

The producer price index -- an important barometer of the industrial sector that measures the cost of goods at the factory gate -- decelerated to a 3.3 percent on-year rise in October. It ticked downwards for the fourth consecutive month, from a high of 4.7 percent in June, while remaining in line with the forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.

"China producer´s inflation is cooling as manufacturing activity is receding damping price pressures on raw commodities, yet another casualty of US-China trade wars," said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at OANDA, a foreign exchange trading platform.

"The decline in the PPI underscores increased economic pressures." Analysts forecast price increases would remain subdued in the months ahead even as Beijing lets up on its campaign to battle winter pollution.