China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, edged up 0.7 percent year on year in February, reversing a 0.8-percent decline in January, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Saturday.

On a monthly basis, the CPI was up 1 percent in February. 

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased by 1.2 percent year on year. This rise represents an expansion of 0.8 percentage point from the previous month, marking the highest increase since February 2022, said the NBS.

Zhang Yu, chief macro analyst at Huachuang Securities, earlier, anticipated a rise in February's CPI, attributing the increase to the Spring Festival consumption and upward pressure from rising international oil prices on domestic fuel costs, as reported by China News Service.

On the other hand, the industrial sector entered its customary seasonal lull in February, which was exacerbated by the Spring Festival holiday, said the NBS. This resulted in a 0.2 percent month-on-month dip in the country's producer price index (PPI), mirroring the decline observed in the preceding month. On an annual basis, the PPI saw a 2.7 percent reduction, marking a slight widening in the rate of decline.