China’s Inflation Falls to Lowest Level in Six Months as Government Controls Commodity Prices.

The rise in producer prices in China slowed to a six-month low in January, due to the Chinese government’s measures to curb rising commodity prices.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said today that the producer price index (PPI) rose 9.1% year-on-year in January. This is the lowest rate since July 2021 and a slowdown from the 10.3% increase in December.

The consumer price index (CPI) slowed, rising 0.9% in January from a year earlier, following a 1.5% increase in December.

Analysts believe the slowdown in inflation could increase the chances of the People’s Bank of China easing monetary policy to support the slowing economy.

In addition, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced yesterday (Feb. 15) that foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing into China in January 2022 increased 11.6% year-on-year to 102.28 billion yuan (about $16.1 billion).

According to the Ministry of Commerce, foreign direct investment increased by 17.6% in January if calculated in dollars.