China Inflation Cools to 15-Month Low, Presages Easing: Economy

China’s inflation cooled to a 15-month low and producer-price gains were the smallest in 2 years in December, leaving the government more room to support growth as a global slowdown hurts exports.

Consumer prices rose 4.1 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing today. That compares with the median estimate of 4 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of 26 economists and 4.2 percent in November.