CHINA'S consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 2 percent year on year in January, the National Bureau of Statistics announced Friday.
And China's producer price index (PPI), which measures inflation at the wholesale level, fell 1.6 percent year on year in January, the bureau said.
CHina's exports also expanded 25 percent from a year earlier to US$187.4 billion in January, a strong start for this year partly due to seasonal factors, but it still indicates improving external conditions.
Imports surged 28.8 percent to US$158.2 last month, with domestic demand picking up amid the ongoing recovery in the world's second-largest economy.
Trade surplus hit US$29.2 billion in January, up 7.7 percent year on year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed this morning.
China's Lunar New Year starts on Sunday, a bit later compared with a year earlier, which leads to 22 working days in this January, more than 17 days in January of last year.
Excluding such effects, the Customs said exports gained 12.4 percent annually last month, while imports added 3.4 percent.
China's business with major trading partners all increased in January.