China's farm produce prices rebound last week

BEIJING - The price index for China's farm produce rebounded in the week ending Jan 28 following a slight retreat the previous week, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

The price index for farm produce rose 1.5 percent in the past week, compared with a 0.1 percent decline in the previous week, while the index for production materials edged up 0.1 percent, ending a four-week falling streak.

The average wholesale price of 30 kinds of vegetables climbed 5.7 percent from a week earlier, compared with a 1.4 percent decrease in the previous week.

The wholesale price of beef and mutton rose 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, while that of pork edged down 0.1 percent.

The wholesale price of eggs increased 0.5 percent from a week earlier.

Food accounts for about one-third of China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation.

The CPI rose 1.6 percent year-on-year in 2017, down from 2 percent for 2016 and well below the government's target to hold the CPI at around 3 percent, official data showed.