China’s consumer inflation waned in October while factory-gate deflation extended a record streak of negative readings, signaling policy makers may need to hit the gas again to ease deflationary pressures.
The consumer-price index rose 1.3 percent in October from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, missing the 1.5 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey and down from 1.6 percent in September. The producer-price index fell 5.9 percent, its 44th straight monthly decline.
The lingering deflation risks, along with weakening trade, open the door for additional stimulus as inflation remains about half the government’s target pace. The People’s Bank of China -- which has cut interest rates six times in the past year -- is seeking to stabilize the economy without fueling a renewed surge in debt.