China's Consumer Prices Slip Again Amid Uncertain Economic Recovery

China's consumer prices declined in October, with the consumer price index (CPI) dropping 0.2% year-on-year and slipping 0.1% month-on-month, indicating weakness in domestic demand. Factory-gate deflation also deepened, raising doubts about the prospects of a broad-based economic recovery. The decline in consumer prices was driven by a further slump in pork prices, while core inflation, excluding food and fuel prices, slowed to 0.6%. The data suggests that China's battle with disinflationary forces continues, posing a risk of missing the government's full-year inflation target. The fourth-quarter economic indicators indicate that a meaningful recovery in the world's second-largest economy remains elusive.