China's CPI up 1.8% in December

China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, grew by 1.8 percent year-on-year in December, up from 1.6 percent in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

The country's full-year consumer inflation rose by 2 percent year-on-year, the NBS said.

Dong Lijuan, an NBS statistician, attributed China's stable prices to the government's measures to effectively coordinate COVID-19 controls with economic and social development and ensure stable supply and prices.

Compared with a year ago, food prices increased by 4.8 percent in December, up from 3.7 percent in November. Pork, a food staple in China, saw prices surge by 22.2 percent, while that of eggs and fresh fruits rose by 10 percent and 11 percent, respectively. However, fresh vegetable prices fell by 8 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, the December CPI reading was unchanged from November, meaning no price growth was registered. That compares with the 0.2 percent decline in the previous month, the NBS said.

The growth in core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices and is deemed a better gauge of the supply-demand relationship in the economy, rose by 0.7 percent in December, versus a 0.6 percent increase in November.

Meanwhile, China's producer price index, which gauges factory-gate prices, decreased by 0.7 percent year-on-year last month after a 1.3 percent decline in November.

On a month-on-month basis, the PPI declined by 0.5 percent in December after a 0.1 percent increase in the previous month, according to the NBS.