China inflation hovers near 5-year low

Beijing

CHINA'S annual consumer inflation remained near a five-year low in October at 1.6 per cent, further evidence that the world's second-largest economy is cooling and reinforcing expectations that authorities will roll out more measures to support growth.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected annual consumer inflation to be 1.6 per cent in October, the same as September, which was the weakest reading since January 2010.

On a monthly basis, consumer inflation was flat in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. That compared with 0.1 per cent expected by economists. "The risk of deflation has risen as the economy is expected to slow further in the next few quarters," ANZ economists said in a research note. "This is a significant risk ... which requires China's policymakers to monitor the situation closely and take action swiftly," ANZ said, suggesting the central bank could inject money into t…