Reuters, BEIJINGChina’s factory gate prices snapped six months of year-on-year declines last month, although prolonged business closures from the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak mean positive momentum is unlikely to persist. China’s consumer price index rose 5.4 percent from a year earlier last month, beating the 4.9 percent rise tipped by a Reuters poll of analysts and a 4.5 percent rise in December. The bureau in a commentary on the data attributed the acceleration in consumer prices to the Lunar New Year holiday, the coronavirus outbreak and a lower base from last year. Food prices surged 20.6 percent last month from a year earlier, while pork prices more than doubled. “That said, we believe PPI inflation is poised to decline due to a big slowdown in property and infrastructure investment.”

Source: Taipei Times February 10, 2020 15:56 UTC