On a month-on-month basis, February’s CPI declined by 0.5 per cent, while January’s CPI increased by 0.8 per cent, NBS said.

China’s consumer inflation eased in February this year to a 12-month low, while its factory-gate prices dropped on an annual basis for a fifth consecutive month, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The consumer price index rose by 1 per cent from a year earlier in the month after a three-month high of 2.1 per cent in January.

Core CPI rose by 0.6 per cent year on year in February after a 1 per cent rise in January.

NBS attributed the consumer inflation ease in February to factors like the decline in consumer demand after the January Spring Festival holiday and sufficient market supplies, while the fall in factory-gate prices was affected by a high comparison base in the previous year, an official media outlet reported.

The producer price index, which gauges factory-gate prices, was down by 1.4 per cent from a year earlier in February, compared with a 0.8 per cent annual contraction seen in January, NBS added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)