China's annual consumer price inflation sped to an 11-year high in November at 6.9%, with new signs that price pressures were spreading beyond food to the broader economy.
China also logged a $26.3 billion trade surplus in November, data published today shows. The level dipped below October's record of $27.1 billion, but the country's surging exports were barely dented by the slowing US economy.
China's gaping trade surplus - along with the undervalued yuan and other policies seen by foreign critics as boosting the surplus - will feature heavily at high-level Sino-American talks set for this week in Beijing.
But economists are giving closer scrutiny to inflation, which has been driven largely by food costs that make up a third of the CPI basket.
The numbers pointed to pressures seeping beyond food items, where annual price rises were still highest, up 18.2% in November, to the broader economy, from utilities to travel costs.
The non-food consumer price index climbed 1.4% in November year on year, above the 1.1% increase in October, and the sharpest rise this year.
Full-year consumer price inflation is likely to register a rise of about 4.7%, which would be the highest since 1996, chief economist of the National Bureau of Statistics, Yao Jingyuan, said.
Last week China's top leaders announced they would shift to a 'tight' monetary policy from what they called a decade-long 'prudent' stance. The stubbornly high consumer price inflation should reinforce their determination, analysts said.
China's exports grew at 22.8% in November from the same period a year ago, while imports climbed 25.3%, both figures broadly in line with the pace set in October.
