China Factory Gate Inflation Hits Fastest Pace Since 2022 as Consumer Prices Rise Just 0.7 Percent

China's factory gate prices rose at their fastest pace in more than four years in October, while consumer prices barely moved. The split points to higher energy costs working through industry and weak spending at home holding down prices in shops.

The National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday, Nov 9, 2026, that the producer price index rose 5.7 percent year on year in Oct 2026. That was up from 5.0 percent in September and above the 5.3 percent forecast in a Reuters poll. It was the fastest annual rise since June 2022, when producer prices rose 6.1 percent, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.

Producer prices rose 0.7 percent month on month in October. The monthly gain was 0.5 percentage points slower than the month before.

Consumer prices stay low

The consumer price index rose 0.7 percent year on year in October, the bureau said. That was below the 0.8 percent expected and down from 0.9 percent in September. On a monthly basis, consumer prices were unchanged in October after a 0.2 percent rise in September. In the first 10 months of 2026, consumer prices rose 0.9 percent from a year earlier.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, eased to 0.8 percent in October from 1.0 percent in September.

Food prices were the main drag. They fell 2.9 percent year on year. Fresh vegetable prices dropped 16.9 percent and pork prices fell 8.6 percent, while egg prices rose 10.1 percent. Non-food prices rose 1.5 percent.

Oil costs push factory prices up

Reuters reported that higher global oil prices linked to the war in the Middle East raised costs for coal mining, oil and natural gas extraction and processing, chemicals and other energy heavy industries. Those costs drove much of the rise in producer prices. Weak household demand kept the pressure from passing in full to consumers.

"We think the price shock from the Middle East conflict will keep inflation elevated over the coming months. But its impact should fade next year," said Nguyen Hoang Nam, a China economist at Capital Economics, via Reuters.

Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, pointed to the other side of the data. "The CPI inflation stayed at a low level which reflects that domestic demand remains weak. We have not seen significant policy stimulus so far," he said via Reuters.

The October figures leave factories facing rising input costs while shops see little room to raise prices. Producer inflation is running at its highest since June 2022. Consumer inflation sits below 1 percent, with cheaper food pulling the headline rate down even as energy costs climb.