China's CPI up 0.3 pct month on month in January

In this drone photo, people visit a local fair for the upcoming Chinese New Year in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 5, 2024. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)

BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price index (CPI), a key indicator of inflation, edged up 0.3 percent month on month in January 2024, official data showed Thursday.

The CPI in January went down 0.8 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The carryover effect sent the CPI inflation down by 1.1 percentage points, while new price increases edged the growth up by 0.3 percentage points, said Dong Lijuan, an NBS senior statistician.

The domestic consumer demand continued to increase last month driven by the holiday effect, said Dong. This year's Spring Festival falls on Feb. 10.

Food prices went up 0.4 percent month on month in January, dragging up consumer inflation by 0.08 percentage points, according to the NBS.

Non-food prices went up 0.2 percent month on month last month, compared to a 0.1-percent decline in December last year, with air ticket prices surging 12.1 percent, while tourism went up 4.2 percent from the previous month.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, went up 0.4 percent year on year last month, said the NBS.

Thursday's data also revealed that China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 2.5 percent year on year in January 2024.

On a monthly basis, the PPI edged down 0.2 percent in January this year, according to the NBS.