China's record factory inflation poses another threat to supply chains
CNN
The cost of goods leaving China's factories is surging by the highest rate on record, stoking fears about stagflation in the world's second largest economy at a time when it is already grappling with an extreme power crunch and deepening debt woes.
The producer price index — which measures the cost of goods sold to businesses — soared 10.7% in September from a year ago, according to government data released Thursday. That is the fastest increase since 1996, when the government began releasing such data, according to Eikon Refinitiv data.
The spike can be attributed to "higher prices in coal and products from energy-intensive sectors," Dong Lijuan, senior statistician at China's National Bureau of Statistics, said in a statement. Coal prices are at record highs in the country as supplies struggle to keep pace with demand from power stations.
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