China’s factory-gate prices drop at fastest pace in four years, consumer inflation eases to lowest since October 2019

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China’s factory-gate prices slipped deeper into deflation in April, falling at the fastest pace in four years, underscoring persistent impacts of the coronavirus on the country's industrial demand. Its consumer inflation eased significantly, hitting the lowest since October 2019, as consumer demand remained sluggish.

The producer price index (PPI) fell 3.1 per cent from a year earlier, shows data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, compared with a 2.6 per cent drop expected by analysts in a Reuters poll and a 1.5 per cent fall in March.