ANKARA 

China's annual inflation rate was 2.1% in May, just below the market forecast of 2.2%, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics data released on Friday.

Food prices saw a 2.3% increase in May compared to the same month last year, the highest since September 2020. The price had seen an increase of 1.9% in April.

Non-food prices, on the other hand, rose by 2.3% last month, up from a reading of 2.2% in April.

China has set a target of inflation at around 3% for this year, the same as in 2021.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.2% in May, the first monthly decline in five months, reversing from a 0.4% gain in April.

Meanwhile, the producer price index rose 6.4% year-on-year last month, the weakest pace since March 2021.