China's consumer inflation rate held steady in January, while wholesale prices fell at a faster rate than in January. The consumer price index rose 2.5% from a year earlier, or 1% on a monthly basis, as pork, beef and vegetable prices all rose. The year-on-year result was identical to that in December, though the month-on-month gain was above a 0.3% rise in the previous month. The producer price index, meanwhile, fell 1.6% from a year earlier -- the largest drop since August -- and was 0.1% below that of a month earlier. This compared to a 1.4% fall in December, when prices were flat on a monthly basis.
Stocks opened higher as the data were released, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 1.1% compared to a 1% premarket gain ahead of the numbers, while the Shanghai Composite +0.05% swung to a 0.4% gain.
Stocks opened higher as the data were released, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 1.1% compared to a 1% premarket gain ahead of the numbers, while the Shanghai Composite +0.05% swung to a 0.4% gain.