In Depth: Mild Inflation Hasn’t Stopped Chinese Consumers Feeling Squeezed

As major central banks around the world raise interest rates to rein in soaring prices, China is an outlier — consumer inflation is far less threatening, and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has been cutting borrowing costs to support the economy. Yet residents are feeling the pinch from rising food costs.

Ms. Zhao, 54, a housewife who lives in central China’s Henan province, told Caixin Thursday that pork prices at her local market in Zhumadian city jumped from 36 yuan ($4.92) a kilogram to 44 yuan over the past month. But even at that level, she did not hesitate to buy extra to stock up in the expectation that prices will go even higher after a warning from the local government.