BEIJING, April 11 (Reuters) - China's consumer inflation
in March hit the slowest pace since September 2021, driven by
falling food prices, official data showed on Tuesday, suggesting
demand weakness persists amid an uneven economic recovery.
Producer deflation extended into a sixth month.
The consumer price index (CPI) for the month rose 0.7%
year-on-year, compared with the 1.0% annual gain seen in
February, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The
result missed the median estimate of a 1.0% rise in a Reuters
poll.
The CPI fell 0.3% from a month earlier after a 0.5% fall in
February, slower than a forecast of no change.
The government has set a target for average consumer prices
in 2023 to be about 3%. Prices rose 2% on year in 2022.
The producer price index (PPI) fell 2.5% from a year
earlier, compared with a 1.4% drop in February. It was in line
with a forecast tipped in a Reuters poll.
The PPI remained flat from a month earlier, in line with the
previous month's rate.
Recent data showed China's economic rebound remained uneven
in March with the services sector seeing strong recovery but the
sprawling manufacturing sector losing momentum amid still-weak
export orders.
(Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam
Holmes)
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