China’s consumer price index(CPI),a main gauge of inflation,was up 0.1 percent year-on-year in December,according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS)on Thursday.

In 2024,China’s yearly CPI increased by 0.2 percent,showing a moderate growth in consumer price levels,NBS data showed.

The CPI number showed that the consumer market operated steadily in December,with CPI remaining flat month-on-month,but slightly down from the 0.2-percent growth seen in November,according to NBS.

The core CPI,deducting food and energy prices,jumped by 0.4 percent year-on-year in December,an acceleration of 0.1 percentage point compared with November,the NBS said.

Food prices fell 0.5 percent year-on-year in December,with the prices of pork,a staple meat in China,and fresh vegetables gaining 12.5 percent and 0.5 percent year-on-year.Non-food prices rose 0.2 percent year-on-year last month.

In breakdown,gold jewelry price soared by 27.2 percent,and the prices of fossil fuel-powered cars and new energy vehicles declined by 4.7 percent and 6 percent,respectively.Service sector prices were up by 0.5 percent in December compared with a year earlier,said the NBS.

The NBS data also revealed that China’s producer price index(PPI),which measures production cost at the factory gate,went down by 2.3 percent year-on-year in December.

The price decline in December,which the NBS attributed to factors such as industries entering traditional off-season for production,as well as the transmission of price fluctuations on the international market,narrowed by 0.2 percentage points from November.