By Bigc Studio @ Shutterstock.com

Jason Douglas of The Wall Street Journal reports that consumer prices fell again last month, the latest sign of economic weakness in China. He writes:

Consumer prices in China fell for the second straight month, a deepening bout of deflation that shows Beijing’s efforts to reignite faltering growth are falling short.

China’s top leaders telegraphed Friday that more support is coming for the economy, with pledges of new fiscal stimulus and supportive central-bank policy in the months ahead.

Still, the Communist Party’s ruling Politburo signaled that stimulus will be measured rather than aggressive, reinforcing expectations for steady if unspectacular growth in 2024 as the economy grapples with a drawn-out property bust and a global backdrop darkened by war and slowdowns in the U.S. and Europe.

Consumer prices in China tumbled 0.5% in November compared with a year earlier, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday, steeper than October’s 0.2% fall.

Prices charged by companies at the factory gate also fell in November at a steeper annual rate than in October, as firms slashed prices in an effort to beef up sales. […]

Many economists, though, have penciled in slightly weaker forecasts for next year, since the economy benefited in 2023 from a favorable comparison with 2022, when lockdowns in major cities including Shanghai and Shenzhen hammered growth.

The International Monetary Fund, for instance, expects growth in China to slow to 4.6% in 2024, from 5.4% this year.

Read more here.