China consumer inflation accelerates in Dec; PPI falls with soft demand

China abandoned its strict zero-Covid measures last month, lifting lockdowns, removing quarantine and halting regular testing. As a result, economists expect inflation to continue to accelerate

China's annual consumer inflation rate accelerated in December, driven by rising food prices even as domestic demand wavered amid restrained economic activity during the month.

Economists expect inflation to continue to pick up in the first quarter of 2023.

The consumer price index (CPI) in December was 1.8% higher than a year earlier, rising faster than the 1.6% annual gain seen in November, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday. The result matched a Reuters poll estimate of 1.8%.

The annual rate fall in the producer price index (PPI) slowed in December to 0.7% from the