The rate of increase in Chinese producer prices moderated last month, the government said yesterday, adding to evidence that Asia's second-largest economy may have seen a slowdown since early this year.
Producer or factory gate prices rose 5.8 percent in January from a year earlier, compared with a 7.1 percent increase in December, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.
"There's no denying that the trend is down but it has to be, otherwise it would be a repetition of last year's overheating," said Chen Xingdong, who is the chief China economist with BNP Paribas Peregrine Securities in Beijing.
"What we're seeing is a slowdown to more sustainable growth rates. If growth remained as high as last year, it would be a disaster," he said.
Producer prices are often seen as a more reliable indicator of inflation trends than consumer prices, which are skewed by a series of price controls still in place in China.
Statistics published so far for last month all appear to indicate that the Chinese economy is moving along at a more moderate pace after growth reached an eight-year high of 9.5 percent last year.
industrial output
Annual growth in industrial output declined abruptly last month to 8.9 percent from 14.4 percent in December, data released last week showed.
Foreign direct investment last month increased 10.7 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 13.3 percent increase for all of last year, the commerce ministry reported over the weekend.
The Chinese government has worked hard for at least a year to slow the economy in order to eradicate bottlenecks in energy and transportation and keep inflation in check.
too soon to tell
The jury is still out on the significance of the January numbers as economists warn against basing too sweeping conclusions on statistics from just one single month.
However, in terms of policy consequences, the government may decide to go slow on further interest rate hikes in light of the new figures, analysts said.
The central bank yesterday indicated its monetary tightening was not intended to cause all kinds of fund flows to dry up, suggesting it wanted to make it easier for small companies, which are mostly private, to access financing.
"We should promote the development of small loans to solve the problems faced by small enterprises and individuals seeking financing," deputy central bank governor Wu Xiaoling (
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft