China Nov consumer prices rise slowest in 5 years

China's consumer prices in November grew by their slowest pace in five years, official data showed on Wednesday, raising the probability of more easing measures by the central bank.

China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose by 1.4 percent year on year in November, the slowest increase since November 2009, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Yu Qiumei, a senior NBS statistician, attributed the record low inflation level to seasonal and international factors.

On a monthly basis, November's CPI dipped 0.2 percent against the previous month, while data remained flat in October.

For the first 10 months, inflation grew 2 percent year on year, well below the 3.5 percent full year target set by the government.

Food prices, which account for about one-third of the CPI calculation's weighting, rose 2.3 percent from a year ago in November, lifting CPI by 0.77 percentage point, compared to 2.5 percent and 0.83 percentage point in the previous month.

Good weather conditions contributed to the slower food price increases. In November, the average nationwide temperature was 3.9 degrees celsius, 1 degree higher than the long-term average, which provided favorable conditions for the agriculture sector, said Yu.

As a result, the price of fresh vegetables and fruit dropped by 1.6 percent and 0.5 percent compared to October.

Annually, the price of fresh fruit surged 14 percent, increasing CPI by 0.28 percentage point. The price of eggs soared 16.5 percent, contributing 0.14 percentage point to CPI.

Food inflation was offset by easing non-food inflation, which edged up 1.0 percent year on year in November. Subdued non-food inflation mainly came from falling fuel prices, which dropped by 8.3 percent.

Last month, the slump in international crude oil prices brought down domestic gasoline and diesel prices, which dropped 5.6 percent and 5.9 percent year on year, respectively, dragging down the CPI by 0.05 percentage point, said Yu.