China May CPI up 2% y-o-y, below forecasts

[BEIJING] China's consumer price inflation in May rose 2 per cent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, below market expectations.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted the consumer price index (CPI) would rise 2.3 per cent, the same pace as in April.

Producer prices in May fell 2.8 per cent from a year earlier, compared with market expectations for a drop of 3.3 per cent and a decline of 3.4 per cent in April.

Deflationary pressures in China were a major concern for financial markets and the central bank for much of 2015, but the trend began showing signs of improving late last year.

REUTERS