China Inflation Falls Below 1 Percent In 2021

The mainland's consumer price index (CPI) climbed 0.9 percent last year, well below Beijing's annual inflation target of approximately 3 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.

Consumer prices rose 2.5 percent and 2.9 percent in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The main gauge of inflation was up 1.5 percent year on year in December, down from 2.3 percent the month before.

Breaking down the inflation data, food prices dropped 1.2 percent from December 2020, reversing the 1.6-percent rise in November, according to figures quoted by the Xinhua News Agency.

The price of pork slumped 36.7 percent year on year, while the prices of other farm produce from vegetables to fish and eggs registered smaller increases.

Non-food prices rose 2.1 percent from a year earlier, down from the 2.5 percent gain in November.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, gained 1.2 percent in December, the same as the month before.