China April CPI grows 1.5 pct y-o-y

A seller arranges vegetables at a supermarket in Cangzhou City, north China's Hebei Province, May 8, 2015. China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 1.5 percent year on year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on May 9. (Xinhua/Mou Yu)

BEIJING, May 9 -- China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 1.5 percent year on year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Saturday.

The reading slightly rebounded from 1.4 percent in March and 0.8 percent in January, the lowest level in more than five years.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices in April edged down 0.2 percent, narrowing from a 0.5-percent drop recorded in March.

"Due to a relatively low base, food prices rose quickly in April, driving up the year-on-year CPI growth," said NBS senior statistician Yu Qiumei.

China's GDP grew 7.4 percent in 2014, the weakest annual expansion in 24 years. A string of economic indicators for the new year, including manufacturing, consumption and foreign trade, suggested persistent weakness.

China set this year's economic growth target at around 7 percent and its inflation control target at around 3 percent.