China's consumer confidence rebounds in October

Chinese consumers using bank cards showed more confidence in October than a month earlier, according to the Bankcard Consumer Confidence Index (BCCI) on Friday.

The BCCI, compiled by the Xinhua News Agency and China UnionPay, a national bank card association, rose 0.66 point from September to 86.46 in October. However, this was down 0.17 point year-on-year.

Falling prices of agricultural products, holiday consumption and the country's stabilizing economy are reasons behind the month-on-month increase in consumer confidence, according to the BCCI report.

The week-long National Day holiday starting on Oct. 1 pushed up bank-card users' consumption on hotels, entertainment and jewelry, the report said.

China's statistics bureau announced Friday that the inflation rate dropped to a 33-month low of 1.7 percent in October, down from 1.9 percent in September and 2 percent in August.

The wholesale price index for agricultural products dropped to 182.5 points in October from 192.5 in September, reducing the proportion of consumption on agricultural products by card users.

"The stabilization of China's economy is also a significant reason for the rebound in consumer confidence," the report said.8 The purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.2 percent in October from 49.8 percent in September, just above the 50-percent figure that demarcates expansion from contraction.

Data released Friday by the statistics bureau also showed fixed-asset investment and retail sales saw strong growth during the first 10 months of the year, indicating that the country's economy is gradually stabilizing.