China's producer price inflation accelerated sharply in May, with factory-gate prices rising 3.9% year-on-year, up from 2.8% in April and marginally above market forecasts, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. On a monthly basis PPI gained 0.5%, while industrial purchase prices climbed 5.8% year-on-year and 1.3% month-on-month, signalling that upstream cost pressures continue to build. Consumer price inflation told a different story. Headline CPI held at 1.2% year-on-year in May, unchanged from the prior month but below the 1.3% consensus expectation. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, eased to 1.1% ... (full story)