China Inflation Slows to 0.7% as Food Deflation Deepens in October

By Olivia Hart

China’s annual consumer-price inflation slowed to 0.7% in October 2026 from 0.9% in September, the National Bureau of Statistics of China reported. The rate was 0.1 percentage point below the 0.8% market expectation and the lowest since June, according to the TradingView chart summary by Mr_J__fx, which cites the NBS.

Consumer prices were unchanged from September on a monthly basis, matching forecasts after a 0.2% rise in the prior month. The immediate signal is lower annual inflation with no month-to-month increase in the headline consumer-price level.

What drove the slowdown?

Food inflation deepened to -2.9% in October from -1.7% in September, according to Mr_J__fx’s summary of the NBS data. Mr_J__fx described food inflation as negative for a seventh straight month, with the -2.9% rate representing the steepest fall in a year. He attributed the pressure to ample pork supplies and persistently weak consumption.

The food component moved in the opposite direction from the 0.7% headline rate and pulled the annual measure lower. Because the source gives category inflation rates rather than household spending weights, it does not quantify food’s exact contribution to the 0.2 percentage-point slowdown. In plain terms, food deflation did the most to pull down the headline number.

Why did transport costs rise?

Non-food inflation held at 1.5% in October, unchanged from September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China data cited in the chart. That rate remained more than twice the 0.7% headline figure. Within that category, transport costs accelerated to 5.3% from 4.3% in September.

Mr_J__fx linked the transport increase to the pass-through of recent fuel-price hikes associated with higher global oil prices. Other non-food readings split in different directions. Clothing inflation eased to 1.1% from 1.2%, and healthcare inflation fell to 2.4% from 2.7%. Education costs rose faster, at 1.5% versus 1.4%, while housing inflation remained negative at -0.3% in both months.

Transport’s 5.3% reading was the strongest increase among the listed non-food components. Yet the source provides neither the size nor the timing of the fuel-price adjustments. The category data identify the source of pressure without showing how long it will last.

What does core inflation show?

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, slowed to 0.8% in October, according to Mr_J__fx’s summary of the NBS release. That was the weakest pace in nine months, down from 1.0% in both August and September.

The core measure strips out food, where deflation was deep, and energy costs, which fed into transport prices. The 0.8% core rate still indicates price growth, not a broad outright decline across the basket. Core inflation therefore supports the slowdown while leaving open the possibility that transport-related pressure remains elevated.

Was the monthly picture as calm?

Consumer prices were unchanged from September, matching market forecasts, according to the TradingView chart summary. That followed a 0.2% monthly increase in September. The flat headline reading means October brought no aggregate increase, although it does not show whether individual categories moved in opposite directions.

The source gives no monthly breakdown for food, transport or core inflation. The monthly takeaway is stability at the aggregate level, not evidence that every price category held still. That distinction matters because a flat headline figure can conceal offsetting changes beneath the surface.

What remains unresolved?

The NBS figures, as summarized by Mr_J__fx, show four headline signals: 0.7% annual inflation, -2.9% food inflation, 0.8% core inflation and a 0.0% monthly change. Housing inflation remained at -0.3%, while transport inflation rose to 5.3%. Together, the readings show lower annual inflation led by food deflation, with transport costs offsetting part of that decline.

The chart does not explain why housing inflation stayed negative or quantify pork supply, weak consumption and fuel-price adjustments beyond linking them to category outcomes. It also offers no policy outlook, household-cost estimate or longer forecast. The next test is whether transport inflation keeps rising while food inflation remains negative; those two paths will determine whether the lower headline rate persists.