China’s consumer price decline worsens, fueling deflation fears

China has struggled with falling prices much of this year, contrasting with many other parts of the world where central banks are focused on taming inflation instead. - PHOTO: AFP

BEIJING (Bloomberg): China’s consumer prices fell at the steepest pace in three years while producer costs dropped even further into negative territory, underscoring the challenges facing the economic recovery.

The consumer price index fell 0.5% last month from a year earlier, the national statistics bureau said in a statement Saturday. That’s the biggest drop since November 2020 and is weaker than the 0.2% drop projected by economists in a Bloomberg survey.