(Yicai) Nov. 9 -- China’s consumer prices fell into negative territory last month, pushed down by a drop in consumption following the so-called Golden Week holiday and the falling cost of foodstuffs. Factory gate prices declined for the 13th month in a row.

The consumer price index fell 0.2 percent in October from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics announced today. The index was flat in September after ticking up 0.1 percent in August.

Chief Statistician of the urban department at NBS Dong Lijuan attributed the decline to ample supply of farm produce and softening consumer demand after the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday early last month.

China’s Golden Week break stretched for eight straight days from Sept. 29 through Oct. 6 this year because of the way in which the Mid-Autumn Festival fell near the National Day holiday. Spending on transport, tourism, hospitality, dining, and shopping typically climbs around this period and falls off afterward.

Food prices dropped 4 percent last month, compared with September's 3.2 percent decline, dragging down the headline CPI figure by about 0.75 percentage point. The price of pork, a staple meat in China, tumbled 30 percent. Other prices rose. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, edged up 0.6 percent, versus a 0.8 percent increase the month before.

The CPI could rebound a little this month due to the gradual recovery of the Chinese economy and rising demand, but is likely to remain at low levels due to insufficient overall demand, said Wu Chaoming, deputy director of Chasing International Economic Institute.

Consumers are becoming more willing to spend, so inflation is expected to return to a positive growth range, according to Bruce Pang, chief economist at Jones Lang LaSalle China. Economic policy still needs to actively focus on expanding demand, promoting price recovery from low levels to reasonable levels, Pang added.

Factory-gate prices fell again last month. The producer price index edged down 2.6 percent from a year ago, after a 2.5 percent drop in September, due to fluctuations in the international crude oil and non-ferrous metal prices as well as the impact of a higher base in the same period of last year, according to the NBS.

The continuing decline in the PPI indicates that the recovery of consumer demand has been sluggish since last year, especially the property market decline, which has offset the driving effect of infrastructure investment on industrial product prices, according to Wang Qing, chief macroeconomic analyst at Golden Credit Rating.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine