China January Consumer Prices Rise 2%
Getty Images
China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2 percent in January from a year ago, largely in line with market consensus. The nation's Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 1.6 percent in the month year-on-year, also as expected.
The figures show inflation easing from December's seven-month high, with most economists seeing price pressures bottoming out in January.
China's inflation has fallen steadily from a three-year peak of 6.5 percent in July 2011 in response to a series of policy tightening steps and weakening economic activity.
The central bank has said that China's inflation trend is stable, but the country needs to guard against imported price pressures stemming in part from ultra-loose U.S. monetary policy.
China's annual consumer price inflation was in line with expectations in January, easing from December's seven-month high, with most economists seeing price pressures bottoming out in January.