Falling prices in China have reinforced fears of the slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy , highlighting sluggish consumer demand and the struggles of over-extended factories. Consumer prices fell 0.5 per cent in March from the previous month, while producer prices remained mired in deflationary territory for a 25th-consecutive month, according to figures published by the national bureau of statistics on Friday. Coming on the heels of weak trade figures , slower credit issuance and big declines in property sales, the price data reinforces the picture of a disappointing first quarter for the world’s second-largest economy. Analysts have rushed to downgrade their forecasts for Chinese growth and now predict that the economy will expand 7.4 per cent this year, its softest in more than two decades. The downturn has fuelled expectations that the government will prop up growth, but Li Keqiang, the premier, on Thursday rebuffed calls for […]