CPI falls 0.5% in October, PPI down 5.8%

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-11 10:23

BEIJING: China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, dipped 0.5 percent year on year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

The rate of decline was 0.3 percentage points lower than that in Septemper.

The producer price index (PPI), a major measure of inflation at the wholesale level, dropped 5.8 percent in October from a year earlier, according to the NBS.

The rate of decline was 1.2 percentage points lower than that in September.

New loans sharply down in Oct

China's new yuan-denominated loans in October were down 51 percent from September, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, announced Wednesday.

Growth of the new yuan loans slowed to 253 billion yuan (37.06 billion U.S. dollars) from September's 516.7 billion yuan (75.68 billion U.S. dollars), according to the central bank.

Yuan loans outstanding at the end of October were 34.19 percent higher than a year earlier, almost the same as September's reading of 34.2 percent.

The broad M2 measure of money supply, which covers cash in circulation and all deposits, was up 29.42 percent in October from a year earlier to 58.62 trillion yuan, the central bank said.

Annual growth of the narrow M1 measure of money supply, which covers cash in circulation plus current corporate deposits, accelerated to 32.03 percent from 29.3 percent in September.

Yuan lending in the first 10 months totaled 8.92 trillion yuan, far exceeding the government's target of 5 trillion yuan for this entire year.

Retail sales up 16.2% in October

China's retail sales in October rose 16.2percent year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics said at a press conference Wednesday.

Urban fixed-asset investment up 33.1% in first 10 months

China's urban fixed-asset investment rose 33.1 percent in the first 10 months to 15.07 trillion yuan (2.21 trillion U.S. dollars), compared with the same period a year earlier.

The growth rate was 5.9 percentage points higher than that in the same period of last year, but 0.2 percentage points lower than that in the first nine months, NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun said at a press conference.

The NBS had no figure for the month of October.

Industrial output up 16.1% in Oct

China's industrial output rose 16.1 percent in October from a year earlier, as the economy saw a consolidated recovery of growth with massive government spending.

The increase rate was 7.9 percentage points higher from a year earlier and 2.2 percentage points higher than September, according to figures released by the NBS Wednesday.

Industrial output of the world's third largest economy increased 9.4 percent year on year over first 10 months this year.

Although the growth rate was 5 percentage points lower than that of a year earlier, it was 0.7 percentage points higher than that of the first nine months, said the NBS.

Imports, exports drop 10.7% in Oct

China's imports and exports fell 10.7 percent in October year on year, but with monthly exports exceeding 100 billion U.S. dollars for a fourth straight month this year, the General Administration of Customs announced Wednesday.