China's factory inflation hits 17-month low as pressures ease

— Bloomberg

BEIJING: China's factory-gate inflation eased to a 17-month low in July, defying global cost pressures as slower domestic construction weighed on raw material demand, although consumer prices picked up pace, driven mostly by tight pork supplies.

The producer price index (PPI) rose 4.2% year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday, after a 6.1% uptick in June and missing analyst forecasts for a 4.8% increase.