Source: CRI    Published: 2016-5-10

A citizen selects melon at a supermarket in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China`s Hebei Province, May 9, 2016. China`s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 2.3 percent year on year in April, flat from the previous two months, new data showed Tuesday. [Photo: Xinhua]

China`s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 2.3 percent year on year in April, flat from the previous two months.

The growth rate remained at its highest level since July 2014 for a third month.

Food prices rose 7.4 percent year on year, which was the main reason behind the CPI increase last month.

Meanwhile, producer prices continued to fall in April, but the decline was narrowing at a faster pace in a sign of improved aggregate demand.

The producer price index, a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate, fell 3.4 percent year on year, narrowing from a 4.3-percent drop in March and 4.9 percent in February.

The reading also marked the 50th straight month of declines as China`s economic slowdown and industrial overcapacity weighed on prices.

For more on this, I earlier spoke with He Weiwen, Senior fellow with Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China.