Chinese inflation rates fall further in September amid predictions economic

The Consumer Prices Index measure, which takes in the costs of a host of consumer goods, fell to an annual rate of -0.1% in September from zero the previous month.

The Bureau also maintained that on a month-on-month basis, the pace of increases of the headline index remained constant for the second consecutive month at 0.6 per cent, the lowest pace recorded this year.

India’s August industrial output sprang a positive surprise, leapfrogging from 0.5 per cent to 6.4 per cent year-on-year, but the retail inflation in September showed an up-tick by growing at 4.41 per cent due to rise in food prices, especially pulses.

The mining sector growth was at 3.8 per cent in August against 1.2 per cent in the same month last fiscal.

“The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index increased marginally from 8.6 percent to 8.7 percent”.

Muted inflation means that the prospect of a hike in British interest rates – which have stood at 0.50 percent for more than six years – is unlikely any time soon, economists said.

“Overall, the still weak PPI highlights the severe overcapacity problem and sluggish domestic investment demand”, said economists at Nomura.

Market analysts said the weak inflation data reinforced fears that if China’s economy slowed, it would drag the world down with it.

Falling food and fuel costs have pushed the United Kingdom back into negative inflation, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Underlying earnings are predicted to be up by 3.2 per cent compared with the year before, according to consultancy IHS Global.

Services inflation, a proxy for domestic price growth, accelerated to 2.5 per cent from 2.3 per cent in August.

CANBERRA, October 9 (Xinhua) – Australia has recognized that China continues to grow solidly while making its transition to a more sustainable pattern of growth, said a press release by Finance Minister Mathias Cormann made available here on Friday.

In the first nine months of the year, CPI rose 1.4 per cent from the same period in 2014, well below the government’s target of an increase “around three per cent” this year.