China's inflation
rebounded slightly in March after logging an extremely low growth in February, backing
lingering uncertainty regarding the country's ability to contain price rises.
China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, expanded 3.6 per cent year-on-year in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.
The growth represents a climb from the 3.2-per cent rate registered in February, the lowest pace in 20 months, reported
Xinhua.
Food prices, which account for nearly one-third of the weighting in the
calculation of China's CPI, increased 7.5 per cent last month from one year earlier.
The rebound comes as people fret over vegetable and fuel price hikes that have triggered a fresh wave of inflation concerns.
Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce showed that the wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables rose for four consecutive weeks from February, posting an increase of 9.7 per cent by early March.
But analysts attributed the surge to inclement weather and held that the trend is likely to be stemmed as the weather gradually warms up.
The Chinese government is aiming to keep CPI increases to around 4 per cent. The country's CPI climbed 3.8 per cent in the first quarter compared with the previous year.
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