China consumer inflation quickens to 2.5% in January

BEIJING - China's consumer inflation quickened in January due to holiday effects, while prices at factory gates rose faster than expected following soaring oil and gas prices, official data showed Tuesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 2.5 percent year on year last month, fractionally above market expectation of 2.4 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics announced Tuesday.

The pace quickened from the 2.1-percent rise in December as the Lunar New Year Holiday pushed up food, transport and travel expenses, according to NBS senior statistician Sheng Guoqing.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up one percent.

Tuesday's data also showed the producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, gained 6.9 percent year on year in January, beating market expectation of 6.5 percent and marking a new high in more than five years.

The jump was mainly driven by the carryover effect of last year's price changes, and rising prices of raw materials and fuels, the NBS explained.