China CPI down in April

BEIJING, May 10 (UPI) -- China said Monday its consumer price index fell 1.5 percent in April from the year-ago level, the third straight monthly decline in the inflation index.

The figures were announced by the National Bureau of Statistics, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

China's CPI index had dropped 1.6 percent in February year on year, the first such fall since October 2002, and 1.2 percent in March.

The agency said China's producer price index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level, dropped 6.6 percent in April from the previous April level, the fifth straight monthly decline in the PPI.