Core Insights - The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in September decreased by 0.3% year-on-year, which is an improvement from August's decline of 0.4%, but still below market expectations of -0.2% [2][5] - The decline in CPI is primarily attributed to the low prices of pork and other food items, reflecting weak consumer demand and insufficient internal consumption momentum [5][7] CPI Analysis - The year-on-year decline of CPI is influenced by a tail effect of approximately -0.8 percentage points, while new price changes contributed about 0.5 percentage points [5] - Food prices fell by 4.4%, contributing approximately 0.83 percentage points to the CPI decline, with pork prices specifically dropping by 17.0%, impacting CPI by about 0.26 percentage points [7][10] - The core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose by 1.0%, marking the first increase in 19 months, indicating some stability in industrial consumer goods prices [11] Economic Outlook - The low inflation environment is expected to persist, with forecasts suggesting a slight recovery in CPI in the fourth quarter, driven by low base effects and reduced drag from food and energy prices [12] - Experts suggest that addressing low inflation requires improving corporate balance sheets and enhancing household cash flow, with recommendations for policies to stabilize employment and income [12][13] - The need for dual approaches of capacity reduction and consumption promotion is emphasized, with a focus on expanding consumption subsidies and stabilizing the real estate market [14][16]