China's consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.9 percent year on year in September, while the producer price index (PPI) surged five percent over the same month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.
The CPI growth gained 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. On a monthly basis, the CPI edged up 0.2 percent in September.
The growth of PPI rose 1.2 percentage points from August. Month on month, the PPI rose 1.2 percent, with the gain widening by 0.8 percentage points from the previous month.
For the first nine months of this year, the CPI rose 0.9 percent year on year on average, while the PPI increased 2.3 percent over the same period, the data showed.
China's CPI, PPI rise in September
European natural gas prices climbed to a four-year high on Tuesday amid below-average storage levels and growing market anxiety over winter supplies.
Natural gas futures prices at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), the European benchmark, rose more than two percent on the day to cross 86 euros (about 96 U.S. dollars) per megawatt-hour, a sharp increase from around 32 euros per megawatt-hour recorded in February.
The price surge comes amid geopolitical tensions surrounding Iran in late February and the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, an essential passage affecting roughly one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas exports and over a quarter of seaborne oil shipments.
Compounding the strain, European storage facilities are currently filled to just 73.75 percent of capacity, significantly below historical averages for this time of year. With forecasts predicting cooler temperatures across northwestern Europe starting next weekend, rising heating demand is set to further strain reserves and shrink the region's buffer against potential supply shocks.
European gas prices reach four-year high on winter supply fears
