China’s Consumer Inflation Edges Up to 0.9 Percent in September as Producer Prices Rise 5.0 Percent
China’s consumer prices rose 0.9 percent in September from a year earlier, up from 0.8 percent in August, and producer prices rose 5.0 percent, up from 3.8 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said on 14 October. On the month, consumer prices rose 0.2 percent and producer prices 1.2 percent. The gap between producer and consumer inflation widened to 4.1 percentage points from 3.0 in August, on our calculation.
Fuel lifts consumer prices
Gasoline prices rose 16.6 percent from a year earlier, adding an estimated 0.47 percentage points to the consumer price index, the bureau said. Energy prices rose 7.3 percent, from 4.1 percent in August, while core inflation, which excludes food and energy, was unchanged at 1.0 percent. Food prices fell 1.7 percent, with pork down 10.0 percent and fresh vegetables down 8.1 percent, while data storage devices rose 46.7 percent and gold jewellery 22.5 percent.
Mining and fuels drive producer prices
Within producer prices, mining rose 25.4 percent and raw materials 9.4 percent, with coal mining up 35.3 percent, oil and gas extraction 24.5 percent and non-ferrous metal smelting 21.4 percent. Prices paid by industrial producers for their inputs rose 6.9 percent. The bureau linked the monthly rise to higher international crude oil and non-ferrous metal prices, stronger coal demand ahead of the winter heating season, and demand from fields such as artificial intelligence.
China price indicators, percent change on a year earlier
| Indicator | September 2026 | August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Producer purchase prices | 6.9 | 5.8 |
| Producer prices | 5.0 | 3.8 |
| Core consumer prices | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Consumer prices | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| Food prices | -1.7 | -1.4 |
From the bureau’s September and August releases. Core excludes food and energy.
Why it matters: Higher energy and metals costs are feeding through to China’s producer prices, while consumer inflation stays below 1 percent with core prices steady, on our reading.
Outlook: The bureau publishes third quarter GDP and September activity data on 19 October.
Sources: National Bureau of Statistics of China, The Edge.
