China’s consumer inflation rate increased in March as fresh food prices jumped, but persistent deflation in the industrial sector was another signal of weak demand and slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.4 percent in March from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday, more from a 2.0 percent rise in February but just below the median forecast in a Reuters poll. Fresh food prices were a major contributor, with fruit prices up an annual 17.3 percent and vegetables up 12.9 percent, although analysts said food inflation was showing signs of moderating. Pork prices fell 6.7 percent from a year earlier. Producer prices fell in annual terms for the 25th straight month, dropping 2.3 percent, slightly more than expected. “Overall, we expect inflation pressures to remain benign amid tepid domestic demand,” Barclays economists said in […]