China consumer confidence index down on inflationary fears

Chinese consumers' confidence index, the main gauge of Chinese consumers' confidence in the economy, fell 5 points on a quarterly basis to 104, the China Economic Monitoring & Analysis Center affiliated with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said today.

This is its first drop in six quarters as inflation accelerated 3.6 per cent year-on-year in September.

''Inflation has been triggered mainly by increases in food prices which has pushed up inflation expectations, especially among low-income workers,'' Pan Jiancheng, deputy director-general of NBS's monitoring center said.

The confidence index for urban consumers was stable on a quarter-on-quarter basis at 101 while that for rural residents, who are less well-off and are more sensitive to price rises, fell 11 points to 106 after five consecutive quarterly gains.

''The index fell because consumers are less willing to buy,'' the NBS said in a report.

Food prices jumped 10.1 per cent in October from a year earlier, the most in two years. Vegetable prices rose 18 per cent from a year earlier.