BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price index (CPI) was expected to grow 1.7 percent to 1.8 percent year-on-year in January, slightly slower than the previous month, according to forecasts from financial institutions recently.
The forecast, lower than previous market expectations, weakens expectations of rising inflation in the short to medium term.
The January CPI, a main gauge of inflation, is due to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on February 15.
The CPI growth edged down mainly due to decline in prices of fresh vegetables, pork and grain, as well as narrowed rise in non-food prices, said Zhang Wenlang, chief analyst at EverBright Securities.
High frequency data released by Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOA) showed that as of January 29, prices of fresh vegetable and fruits rose at a slightly slower pace on a yearly basis compared with the previous month. The price of pork extended losses on a yearly basis or slowed gains on a monthly basis compared with December, 2018.
Food prices are predicted to have increased by 2.1 percent year on year, down 0.4 percentage point, dragging down the CPI growth by nearly one percentage point, said Huang Wentao, chief analyst at China Securities.
The Spring Festival had little influence on food prices, said Huang.
China Galaxy Securities said that rising non-food and service prices picked up due to holiday demand, with a lower growth rate than in previous years. (Edited by Wu Shuang, wushuang2018@xinhua.org)
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