China October factory prices jump as pollution crackdown squeezes supply

Beijing

CHINA inflation both at factories and for retailers jumped to a nine-month high in October, as government efforts to crackdown on pollution pushed up commodity prices.

The producer price index (PPI), an important barometer of the industrial sector, held strong at 6.9 per cent last month. The main reason for the rise was the shutting down of coal-fired steel and other construction plants during the heating season which began earlier this month. This in turn brought up commodity prices.