BEIJING (Reuters) - China's annual consumer inflation hovered at a near five-year low of 1.5 percent in December, signalling persistent weakness in the economy but giving policymakers more room to ease policy to support growth.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected annual consumer inflation to be 1.5 percent in December, compared with 1.4 percent in November.
The consumer price index rose 0.3 percent in December from November, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday, in line with economists' expectations.
The producer price index in December declined 3.3 percent from a year earlier, its 34th consecutive monthly decline, as sluggish demand curbed the pricing power of companies.
The market had expected a 3.1 percent fall in producer prices after a drop of 2.7 percent in November.