China's CPI up 1.5 pct in February

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent year on year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday.

The increase was down from 1.7 percent for January.

Food prices climbed 0.7 percent year on year last month, down 1.2 percentage points from January, according to the NBS.

Non-food prices gained 1.7 percent, the same growth as that in January.

The CPI in urban areas increased 1.5 percent, while that in the countryside ticked up by 1.4 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, the CPI went up 1 percent in February, the NBS said.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)