China's inflation rate hit a 17-month low of 4% in October, down from 4.6% the previous month, the government said today.
The figure is the lowest since May last year, confirming a trend for weakening inflation in the world's fourth-largest economy, as growth creation becomes more of a policy concern.
The consumer price data from the National Bureau of Statistics were released a day after China announced that wholesale prices - another inflation gauge - eased to 6.6% in October, down from 9.1% in September.
Food prices, the main factor in driving up consumer prices in China recently, rose by 8.5% in October, down from 9.7% in September, according to the bureau.
China began 2008 with inflation control at the top of its list of priorities, but with the trade surplus likely to shrink this year, economic growth has become the dominant policy objective in Beijing.
China unveiled a $586 billion stimulus package this week, in the strongest indication yet that the government is concerned about the impact the global crisis has on domestic growth.
The fiscal stimulus was welcome news but it will take time for its effects to be felt, and in the meantime, both inflation and activity growth are expected to fall further, economists said.
In the first 10 months of the year, China's consumer price index increased 6.7% from the same time last year. China's fourth quarter CPI is likely to fall within Beijing's target of 4.8%, but high inflation in the first half of the year means it is unlikely to meet its target for the whole year.
