Inflation in China was close to its lowest in seven months in January.<br /><br />Consumer prices were up 2.5 percent from a year earlier, the same as December. <br /><br />Month-on-month, inflation rose by a slightly more than expected 1.0 percent. <br /><br />The stats will help the Beijing government, which may need to introduce some stimulus measures this year to keep economic growth from slowing too much.<br /><br />More worrying for policymakers was a drop in producer prices – that is at the wholesale level. <br /><br />They declined again in January in an uninterrupted slide that has lasted for nearly two years indicating falling demand for China’s goods. <br /><br />Prices of raw materials and means of production all dropped across the board.<br /><br />Producer prices slid for the 23rd consecutive month by 1.6 percent from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
