Amid economic challenges, Chinese consumer prices plunges at fastest rate in 15 years

Beijing [China], February 8 (ANI): Further underscoring the mounting challenges faced by the Chinese economy, consumer prices slid deeper into deflationary territory last month, suffering the biggest drop since the global recession in 2009. The country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped by 0.8 per cent in January from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data released on Thursday. It was the steepest fall since September 2009 and marks a fourth straight month of decline. But the analysts are of the opinion that the sharp drop was largely due to seasonal factors and the downturn may have already bottomed out. The NBS, as well as some economists, said holiday demand in January 2023, when CPI rose…