China’s Inflation Slows as Coronavirus Locks Down Economy

China’s inflation slowed as the coronavirus hammers demand, with a measure of price gains that strips out food and energy prices slumping to the weakest in a decade.

Core consumer prices rose 1% in February from a year ago, the slowest pace since June 2010, and factory prices returned to deflation, with the producer price index registering a 0.4% decline on year after rising 0.1% in January. However food costs continued to soar due to rising pork prices, leaving overall consumer inflation at 5.2%, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.