China September 2026 producer prices: inflation jumps to 5.0% as oil costs rise
China's producer price index (PPI), which tracks prices factories charge, rose 5.0% year on year in September. Consumer prices rose just 0.9%, which points to oil squeezing industrial profit margins.
A data update from FactIQ, written from National Bureau of Statistics of China figures. What is FactIQ?
Key figures
- China producer price index, September, same month last year = 100
- 105.0up from 103.8 in August; 97.9 a year earlier
- China consumer price index, September, same month last year = 100
- 100.9up from 100.8 in August2026-01-012026-09-01Price Index - Consumer Price Indices by Category (The same period last year=100) - Consumer Price Indices by Category (The same period last year=100) (2026-) - Consumer Price Index
- China car sales at larger retailers, January to September, year on year
- −14.9%after −13.9% for January to August2024-11-012026-09-01Domestic Trade - Retail Sales of Enterprises above Designated Size - Retail Sales of Enterprises above Designated Size, Automobile - Retail Sales of Enterprises above Designated Size, Automobile, Accumulated Growth Rate
- China current account surplus, 2024, revised
- $462.3bnrevised from $423.9bn
Factory-gate prices are rising after falling a year ago
The producer price index (PPI) measures the prices of industrial products when they leave the factory. It often signals cost pressure before that pressure reaches shoppers.- The PPI stood at 105.0 in September (same month last year = 100), up from 103.8 in August.
- A year earlier the index was 97.9, which means factory prices were falling.
- Prices of producer goods rose 6.5% year on year and 1.4% from August. That monthly gain was the biggest since April's 2.1%.
- So far this year, the PPI is up 2.3%.
Consumer prices are rising much more slowly
The consumer price index (CPI) tracks the prices households pay. It stood at 100.9 in September, a 0.9% rise year on year, up from 100.8 in August. The widening gap between factory prices and consumer prices points to oil squeezing industrial profit margins. It does not suggest that strong spending is pushing up prices across the economy.Car sales are falling faster
- From January through September, car sales at larger retailers were down 14.9% year on year, after a fall of 13.9% for January through August.
- September sales alone were about ¥362bn (billion yuan), compared with about ¥466bn a year earlier. That is a fall of roughly 22%.
- Sales of gold and silver jewelry fell further, to −2.4% for the year to date.
Past current account figures were revised up
The current account records a country's trade in goods and services and its income flows with the rest of the world. The 2024 current account surplus was revised from $423.9bn (billion US dollars) to $462.3bn. The 2025 surplus now stands at $735.0bn. Exports of transport services were cut sharply. For example, the 2022 figure fell from $146.5bn to $83.6bn.Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China. See all NBS data in FactIQ.
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