China's CPI up 2.1 pct in October

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.1 percent year on year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

On a monthly basis, October's CPI generally remained stable, contracting 0.2 percentage points from the previous month to inch up 0.1 percent.

Senior NBS statistician Dong Lijuan attributed the stable CPI performance to falling demands after the National Day holiday and a high base of comparison to last year.

Breakdown data showed that food prices went up 0.1 percent month on month, moderating 1.8 percentage points from September.

Specifically, the prices of fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, and aquatic products reversed September's increases to decline by 4.5 percent, 1.6 percent, and 2.3 percent, month on month, respectively, as plenty of supplies hit the market and the demand weakened, Dong noted.

Pork, a staple meat in China, saw prices rise 9.4 percent in October monthly, expanding 4 percentage points over the previous month. The rise of pork prices was mainly driven by the shortage of supply, seasonal strengthening consumer demand, and "reluctance to sell" market sentiment, Dong said.

Non-food prices rose 1.1 percent from a year earlier, compared to the 1.5-percent rise in September, lifting consumer inflation by about 0.88 percentage points.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, gained 0.6 percent year on year in October, unchanged from the prior month.

Wednesday's data also showed China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 1.3 percent year on year in October.