The Producer Price Index, the factory-gate measurement of inflation and a harbinger of future consumer prices, declined 5.9 percent in September, the same as in August, and marked the 43rd consecutive month of decline.
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In commodities, gold prices climbed 0.8% to $1,174.90 a troy ounce.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index shed 0.1 percent, while New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index gained 0.4 percent.
Chinese technology and tech stocks were lifted after Beijing said it was reorganizing the telecom industry, leading to further speculation that policy makers will speed up reforms of state-owned businesses to bolster slowing economic growth.
“The advances recorded by the “All Items less Farm Produce” or core sub-index increased at a marginally slower pace in September relative to August”.
The official Purchasing Managers’ Index, a gauge of comprehensive operational conditions in the state-owned manufacturing sector, landed at 49.8 in September, indicating weakening industrial activities for the second straight month. The Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.9% lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.7% and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.9%. The FTSE of the United Kingdom declined 1.15 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.94 percent.
Chinese stocks were lower, but only. Poultry and fish rose by about 1%.
France’s European Union measure of inflation remained stable in September, data published by the statistical office Insee showed Wednesday.
The core inflation rate, which excludes agricultural products, fell to 8.9 per cent last month from 9 per cent in August, the statistics office said.
“Right now my expectation is, given where I think the economy would go, I wouldn’t expect it would be appropriate to raise rates”, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo told CNBC when asked if interest rates should rise this year.
China’s exports fell less than expected in September, with monthly figures showing recovery, but a sharper fall in imports left economists divided over whether the country’s ailing trade sector is showing signs of turning around.
“On a month-on-month basis, the Urban index edged higher from 0.6 per cent in August to 0.7 per cent in September, while the Rural index increased at a slower pace for the fourth consecutive month, increasing by 0.5 per cent in September from 0.6 per cent in August”, it added.
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Though hitting such a record high in 2015, the consumer inflation only rose marginally to 9.4 percent year-on-year in September from 9.3 percent in August 2015. The report said business inventories came in virtually unchanged in August after revised data showed that inventories were also unchanged in July.
