China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, grew 1.7 percent year on year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics announced on Friday.
The inflation eased from 1.9 percent registered in September and was below market expectations of 1.8 percent.
On a month-on-month basis, October's CPI fell 0.1 percent from the previous month, according to a statement posted on the NBS's website.
Food prices, which account for nearly one-third of the weighting in the calculation of China's CPI, rose 1.8 percent last month from one year earlier, which was down from the 2.5-percent increase in September.
Copyright ©1999-2011 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.