China’s latest inflation data reveals a clear shift beneath the surface, the AI-driven industrial cycle is now feeding into price pressures , even as consumer demand remains subdued. Key Takeaway China's producer prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly four years, driven by stronger demand for AI-related electronics, computing infrastructure and industrial metals. However, soft consumer inflation suggests domestic demand remains weak, highlighting a growing divergence between industrial activity and consumer spending. AI Demand Is Driving Factory Inflation Producer prices (PPI) rose 3.9% YoY Strong demand from: AI infrastructure buildout Electronics and semiconductors Industrial metals like copper and aluminium The global AI spending wave, especially data centre expansion is now directly influencing China’s upstream pricing power. Consumer Demand Still Lagging CPI grew only 1.2% YoY , below expectations Core inflation softened to 1.1% Weak consumption rem...
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Friday as investors locked in gains following a recent rally. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 24.33 points, or 1.39 per cent, to 1,716.61 from Thursday’s close of 1,740.94. The benchmark opened 3.88 points lower at 1,737.06 and traded between 1,714.09 and 1,737.06 during the session. Market breadth was negative, with 842 decliners outpacing 376 gainers, while 491 counters were unchanged. A total of 981 counters were untraded and 76 suspended. Turnover rose to 3.53 billion units valued at RM5.53 billion, compared with 2.98 billion units worth RM4.07 billion on Thursday.