One of China’s inflation gauges drops for the first time since 2020

China’s producer price index fell year-on-year in October 2022 for the first time since December 2020. Pictured here is a furnace at a steel plant in August 2022 in Jiangxi province.

China's producer price index fell in October for the first time since December 2020 due to drops in iron and steel prices.

The producer price index fell in October from a year earlier. According to a poll, the decline was slightly less than expected.

As commodity prices soared last year, the decline came off.

The producer price index saw a decline in iron and steel and coal in October.

Changes in China's producer price index tend to precede changes in the U.S.

China's consumer price index has remained subdued because of lackluster domestic demand. China's GDP has fallen by 3% for the year as of the third quarter.

China's consumer price index rose by 2% in October from a year ago, below the expectations of analysts.

Pork prices went up by 51.8% while fruit prices went up by 12.6%. The previous month's increase was reversed by the fall in fresh vegetable prices.

Excluding food and energy, the core inflation rate was unchanged from the previous month. According to Wind Information, that pace was the lowest since March.

China reported a drop in exports last month due to falling sales to the US and EU. China's imports fell.