Chinese Inflation is Growing

Chinese inflation rose last month, led by a jump in food prices.

The Consumer Price Index increased to 2 percent in November, according to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday. It’s up for the first time since August after only hitting 1.7 percent in October.

The increase in inflation was lead by a jump in food prices – particularly fresh vegetables. Vegetable prices were up 11.3 percent, while total food prices gained 3 percent in November.

Production materials, however, experienced a drop in prices, which fell 2.2 percent from a year ago.

The new inflation data doesn’t really have economists worried. A year ago, China’s annual inflation rate was at four percent – a maximum target level for the nation.

GDP growth is also expected to gain in the fourth quarter of 2012. In the third quarter, growth fell to 7.4 percent, but analysts believe it will jump back up to 8 percent this quarter.

From CNN Money:

“Overall, we believe economic momentum has turned a corner since September, with recent data pointing to a continuing recovery,” Baclays’ economist Steven Lingxiu Yang said in a research note.

Qu Hongbin of HSBC has even suggested that GDP growth could reach 8.6 percent for 2013, as he told China Daily.

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