Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

       DISCOVER THE COLLECTION

       {"uid":"1","hostPeerName":"https://www.nytimes.com","initialGeometry":"{\"windowCoords_t\":10,\"windowCoords_r\":955,\"windowCoords_b\":1030,\"windowCoords_l\":10,\"frameCoords_t\":125,\"frameCoords_r\":912,\"frameCoords_b\":125,\"frameCoords_l\":0,\"styleZIndex\":\"auto\",\"allowedExpansion_t\":125,\"allowedExpansion_r\":0,\"allowedExpansion_b\":761,\"allowedExpansion_l\":0,\"xInView\":0,\"yInView\":0}","permissions":"{\"expandByOverlay\":false,\"expandByPush\":false,\"readCookie\":false,\"writeCookie\":false}","metadata":"{\"shared\":{\"sf_ver\":\"1-0-40\",\"ck_on\":1,\"flash_ver\":\"0\"}}","reportCreativeGeometry":true,"isDifferentSourceWindow":false,"goog_safeframe_hlt":{}}" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" width="0" height="270" data-is-safeframe="true" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" aria-label="Advertisement" tabindex="0" data-google-container-id="1" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; min-width: 100%;">

       Supported by

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

       China Deflation Alarms Raised by Falling Prices for Food and Cars

       In addition to consumer price declines in January, wholesale prices fell last month, and have been down in every month since October 2022.

       Share full article

       Read in app

       Nio’s vehicle assembly line in Hefei, China, in December. Credit...Qilai Shen for The New York Times

       By Keith Bradsher

       Reporting from Seoul

       Feb. 8, 2024

       阅读简体中文版 阅读繁体中文版

       Consumer prices fell last month in China by the most since the global financial crisis in 2009, the latest sign that weak spending and a glut of output from factories and farms are forcing businesses to offer discounts.

       The decline in consumer prices was mostly confined to food and electric cars. But wholesale prices charged by factories and other producers also fell last month, and have been down from their levels a year earlier in every month since October 2022.

       A broad decline in the overall level of prices, a phenomenon known as deflation, could be very troublesome for the economy. Falling prices make it hard for households and companies to keep up on monthly payments for mortgages, corporate loans and other debts.

       Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.

       Keith Bradsher is the Beijing bureau chief for The Times. He previously served as bureau chief in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Detroit and as a Washington correspondent. He has lived and reported in mainland China through the pandemic. More about Keith Bradsher

       A version of this article appears in print on Feb. 9, 2024, Section B , Page 8 of the New York edition with the headline: China Deflation Alarms Raised by Falling Prices for Food and Cars . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

       Share full article

       Read in app

       Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT