Fresh data shows that China
's co
nsumer inflation co
ntinues to grow at a slower pace, while producer inflation has actually declined. According to the Natio
nal Bureau of Statistics, China
's co
nsumer price index -- or CPI, the main gauge for inflation -- grew 1.9 percent in the mo
nth of June over a year earlier. That was slightly lower than the two-percent growth rate in May, and the 2.3 percent growth rates in March and April.
For the first half of 2016, the country's CPI rose 2.1 percent on an annual basis, while this year's annual target was set at around three percent. Statisticians attribute the moderate inflation to food prices. Meanwhile, China's producer price index, or PPI -- which measures the costs of goods at the factory -- dipped 2.6 percent last month from a year earlier.