China Inflation Exceeds Forecasts as Lockdowns Roil Supplies

(Bloomberg) — China’s factory gate prices rose faster than expected in April, while consumer prices climbed again as Covid outbreaks and lockdowns last month drove food and fuel costs higher.

The producer price index rose 8% from a year earlier compared to 8.3% in March, official data showed Wednesday, above the median estimate of a 7.8% increase in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Consumer-price growth accelerated to 2.1% from 1.5% in the previous month, faster than a projected 1.8% gain.