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China inflation rises to 2.4% in April
May 9, 2013, 8:40 am

[Xinhua]

The NBS attribute the gain to an unusual increase in vegetable prices during the month of April [Xinhua]

China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 2.4 per cent year on year in April, up from 2.1 per cent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

The NBS attributed the gain mainly to an unusual increase in vegetable prices during that month as low temperatures and scarce rainfalls disrupted supplies.

In April, food prices, which account for nearly one-third of weighting in China’s CPI, increased four per cent year on year, with the prices of vegetables rising 5.9 per cent, NBS data showed.

Thursday’s data also showed China’s producer price index (PPI), which measures wholesale inflation, fell 2.6 per cent year on year in April, marking the 14th straight month of decline and the steepest drop in six months that pointed to continued weak market demand.

China aims to hold this year’s consumer inflation at around 3.5 per cent.

China’s GDP is expected to expand by about eight per cent this year with CPI growing moderately at 3.4 per cent, according to a new report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

Xinhua