China’s annual inflation jumped to 1.3% in February 2026 from 0.2% in January, marking the highest print since January 2023 and topping market expectations of 0.8%. The increase largely reflected the impact of the Lunar New Year, which fell in mid-February this year. Food prices logged the sharpest rise since October 2024, rebounding from a prior decline (1.7% vs -0.7% in January), boosted by an acceleration in the cost of fresh vegetables and a softer drop in pork prices. Non-food inflation picked up strongly (1.3% vs 0.4%), with upward price pressures coming from clothing (1.9% vs 1.9%), healthcare (1.9% vs 1.7%), and education (2.0% vs flat reading). Meantime, transport costs fell much more slowly (-0.7% vs -3.4%), even as a drop in housing prices accelerated a bit (-0.2% vs -0.1%). Core inflation, excluding food and energy, rose 1.8% yoy, the strongest since March 2019. Monthly, the CPI rose 1.0%, up from 0.2% in January and pointing to the largest monthly gain since February 2024.

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