BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer inflation remained mild in October, with the consumer price index (CPI) rising 0.7 percent year on year, while factory-gate prices increased at a faster pace, official data showed Monday.
Month on month, the CPI was flat, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In the first 10 months of 2026, consumer prices rose 0.9 percent from a year earlier.
The year-on-year increase in October was mainly driven by non-food prices, which rose 1.5 percent, while food prices fell 2.9 percent, weighing on overall inflation.
Food, tobacco, alcohol and dining out prices declined 1.6 percent year on year, dragging down the CPI by 0.48 percentage points. Fresh vegetable prices dropped 16.9 percent, pork prices fell 8.6 percent, and fresh fruit prices declined 3.8 percent, while egg prices rose 12.3 percent.
Among the other seven categories, six saw year-on-year price increases and one declined. Transportation and communication prices led the gains with a 5.5 percent increase, followed by health care at 2.4 percent and other supplies and services at 1.8 percent. Housing-related costs fell 0.3 percent.
On a monthly basis, food, tobacco, alcohol and dining out prices fell 0.5 percent, dragging down the CPI by 0.16 percentage points. Transportation and communication, education, culture and recreation, and health care prices rose 1.0 percent, 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
NBS statistician Dong Lijuan attributed the price movements to a combination of imported inflation and domestic demand. Gasoline prices surged 22.4 percent year on year, accelerating 5.8 percentage points from September and contributing about 0.63 percentage points to the CPI increase.
Prices of data storage equipment, tablet computers, computers and mobile phones rose 45.4 percent, 29.3 percent, 23 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively, together adding about 0.26 percentage points, reflecting robust demand in artificial intelligence and computing-related sectors.
Wang Guanhua, NBS spokesperson, said that, while global inflationary pressure has mounted significantly and major economies have seen sharp price increases, China's price gains remain relatively mild.
He attributed this to the country's complete industrial system, reliable industrial and supply chains, early development of a new energy system, market diversification strategy and timely and effective price-stabilizing policies.
China's producer price index (PPI) rose 5.7 percent year on year in October, up from a 5 percent increase in September. Month on month, PPI rose 0.7 percent, with the pace of increase narrowing 0.5 percentage points from September.
The PPI growth was led by energy-related sectors. Coal mining and washing prices jumped 36.6 percent year on year, while oil and natural gas extraction prices rose 35 percent. Downstream refined petroleum product manufacturing, organic chemical raw material manufacturing, coal processing, and gas production and supply posted monthly increases of 6.8 percent, 6.8 percent, 3.2 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
Orderly capacity adjustment and artificial intelligence development also pushed up some industrial prices, with non-metallic mineral products rising 0.8 percent month on month, automobile manufacturing flattening after three months of declines, and electrical machinery and computer electronics edging up 0.1 percent.
Liu Fang, a researcher with the National Development and Reform Commission, said the mild price recovery has helped improve corporate profitability, with profits of large industrial firms rising 15.5 percent in the first nine months.
As policies aimed at stabilizing growth, expanding domestic demand and supporting businesses are further implemented, prices are expected to continue a mild upward trend, Liu added. ■
