China Inflation Falls to 2 Percent

China’s annual consumer inflation for January eased from a seven-month high in December despite rising food prices, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Friday.

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 2 percent year on year in January, according to the NBS.

On a month-on-month basis, January’s CPI rose 1 percent from the previous month, according to the NBS statement.

The month-on-month growth rate marked an 11-month high, as a cold winter and holiday demand have significantly pushed up vegetable and meat prices, said Yu Qiumei, a senior statistician with the bureau.

China is experiencing an unusually cold winter. Persistent icy weather in south China and lingering smog in north China have disrupted traffic and affected agricultural production, Yu said.

Food prices, which account for one-third of the prices used to calculate the CPI, rose 2.9 percent in January from one year earlier, pushing the index up 0.95 percentage points, according to the NBS.

via Xinhua

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