# China's consumer prices rise 0.9% in September as gasoline costs climb 16.6% on the year

> The National Bureau of Statistics said consumer inflation edged up from 0.8% in August. Food prices fell 1.7%, while energy and industrial goods pushed the index higher.

- Canonical URL: https://forextradingcommunity.com/news/china-cpi-september-2026/
- Type: Data
- Published: 2026-10-19
- Updated: 2026-10-19
- Publisher: Forex Trading Community (https://forextradingcommunity.com), FTC Editorial Team
- Currencies: CNH

China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on 14 October 2026 that the consumer price index rose 0.9% on the year in September, up from 0.8% in August. On the month the index rose 0.2%, a slower increase than the 0.4% rise in August. For the first nine months of the year, consumer prices were 0.9% higher than a year earlier.

## What drove it

- **Gasoline**: +16.6% on the year, contributing about 0.47 percentage point to the headline
- **Industrial consumer goods excluding energy**: +1.6%, contributing about 0.39 point
- **Services**: +0.8%, unchanged from August, contributing about 0.4 point. Travel prices rose 2.1% and medical services 4%
- **Food**: −1.7% on the year, which pulled the headline down

The NBS said the rise reflected energy and industrial consumer goods prices, while falling food prices weighed on the total.

## Reading it

Headline inflation is still low, but the composition has changed. Energy now contributes most of the increase, and food is falling. Analysts quoted by Xinhua expect a gradual recovery in prices as domestic demand improves. The producer price index for September is more pressing: it rose 5.0% on the year, [as set out in the PPI report](/news/china-ppi-september-2026/).

For the wider picture, see [China's August inflation report](/news/china-inflation-august-2026/) and [China's August activity figures](/news/china-economy-august-2026-retail-sales-industrial-output/). Live prices: [AUD/USD](/markets/aud-usd/).

## Sources

- [Xinhua: China's consumer inflation picks up, outlook for price recovery improves, 14 October 2026](https://english.news.cn/20261014/00314f3ab41541cc8e042afbd5006b68/c.html)

## Common questions

### What was China's CPI in September 2026?

The NBS reported consumer prices up 0.9% on the year, up from 0.8% in August, and up 0.2% on the month.

### Why did China's inflation rise in September 2026?

Gasoline prices, up 16.6% on the year, and industrial consumer goods pushed the index higher, while food prices fell 1.7%.

### Where are the official NBS figures published?

The National Bureau of Statistics publishes its CPI and PPI releases on its own website; the figures here are as reported by Xinhua.

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