China's January inflation slows to 2 pct

China's annual consumer inflation eased from December's seven-month high in January despite rising food prices, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed Friday.

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 2 percent year on year in January, according to the NBS.

On a month-on-month basis, January's CPI rose 1 percent from the previous month, according to the NBS statement.

Food, accounting for nearly one-third of weighting in China's CPI, remained a key driver of inflation last month as cold weather and holiday demand drove up prices.

Food prices rose 2.9 percent in January from one year earlier, pushing the CPI up 0.95 percentage points.

The CPI data seemed benign partly because of the so-called "base effects". The year-ago comparison figure was high, as the Spring Festival fell in January last year and pushed up food prices in that month.