The past month has been difficult for the economy of China. During the reporting period, the inflation rate in China accelerated to maximum levels. Last time such high values were recorded in January 2012, analysts say. The acceleration was due to a sharp increase in pork prices, while producer prices fell significantly.

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), consumer prices increased by 3.8% in annual terms in October of this year. In September, the rise was 3%, according to the NBS. Compared to the previous month, the price growth in October reached 0.9%, which turned out to be higher than experts' forecasts.

During the reporting period, food prices in China surged by 15.5%.The growth has been the fastest over the past 11 years. According to economists, the rise in pork prices has been continuing for eight months in a row. In October, prices for it jumped by 101.3%. The cause of this was an epidemic of African swine fever (ASF), due to which the number of pigs in China decreased significantly.

Experts also recorded a rise in prices for non-food products and services of 0.9%, while the cost of clothing increased by 1.2%.

Last month, producer prices in China declined by 1.6% year on year. The drop was the highest since July 2016. Experts attribute this to the prolonged weakening of China's industrial sector under the conditions of declining global demand and a trade war with the US.

In October 2019, the core inflation, excluding volatile food prices and energy prices, remained at 1.5%. Remarkably, China plans to keep the inflation below 3%.