China producer prices up in Jan after four years of deflation

Beijing

PRICES at factory gates and consumer prices rose more than expected in January, but tightening measures implemented over the past two months are expected to put a lid on price hikes looking forward.

The headline inflation rate, the consumer price index (CPI), rose to a three-year high of 2.5 per cent year-on-year in January, while producer price inflation (PPI) rose sharply to 6.9 per cent year-on-year in January from 5.5 per cent the previous month, on the back of a boom in commodity prices.