China's consumer and producer prices continued to decline on an annual basis in September, data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed Wednesday.
The national consumer price index, a key gauge of inflation, fell 0.3% year-on-year in September, easing slightly from a 0.4% drop in August, but exceeding the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast of a 0.1% decline.
"Every sector, from steel to solar panels, is trapped in a price war so relentless it feels like the corporate equivalent of trench warfare — companies undercutting each other just to live to fight another day," commented Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices rose 0.1%, up from a flat reading in August, but still lower than the expected 0.2% increase.
Meanwhile, the producer price index matched market expectations at minus 2.3% year-on-year in September, narrowing from a 2.9% decline in August.