China Sept factory inflation hits highest since records started

China’s annual factory gate prices rose more quickly than expected in September, driven by soaring raw material prices, piling pressure on businesses already grappling with energy curbs and supply bottlenecks.

The producer price index (PPI) rose 10.7% from a year earlier in September, its fastest pace since the data began to be compiled in October 1996, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday. That compared with an increase of 10.5% forecast in a Reuters poll and a 9.5% rise in August.