China's consumer price inflation remained stable yet again below the government's full-year target in April and producer prices dropped at a slower pace from last year, providing ample space for policy maneuver, official data revealed Tuesday.
Consumer prices climbed 2.3 percent on a yearly basis for the third straight month in April, the National Bureau of Statistics reported today.
The annual rate matched economists' expectations and remained below the full-year target of 3 percent.
Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics expects inflation to remain near current levels for the rest of the year.
Food inflation eased to 7.4 percent from 7.6 percent, while non-food inflation rose to 1.1 percent from 1 percent.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices dropped 0.2 percent but slower than the 0.4 percent decrease seen in March.
Another report from NBS showed that producer prices declined by a less-than-expected 3.4 percent in April from last year. Prices have been falling for the 50th consecutive month in April.
Economists had forecast prices to decrease 3.7 percent after easing 4.3 percent in March. Month-on-month, producer prices advanced 0.7 percent, which was the second consecutive rise.
A further recovery in producer price inflation is expected over the coming quarters as commodity price deflation continues to ease, the economist at Capital Economics said.
The PBoC said last week it will continue to implement prudent monetary policy and adopt various monetary policy tools to create a suitable financial environment.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.