China consumer price index drops below zero in February

China’s national consumer price index (CPI) in February fell into negative territory for the first time since January last year, weighed down by a decline in food, tobacco and alcohol prices.

The CPI declined by 0.7% last month from a year earlier, data published Sunday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed, reversing a year-on-year gain of 0.5% in January.

The reading missed estimates of an annualized contraction of 0.5%, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

China’s CPI in February fell 0.2% on a monthly basis, meanwhile, compared to a rise of 0.7% in January.

The data comes as investors continue to look for signs that Beijing’s stimulus measures can help to boost the country’s economic recovery.

China on Wednesday set its GDP target for 2025 at “around 5%” and laid out plans to stabilize economic growth by propping up domestic demand.

Beijing also revised down its annual consumer price inflation target to “around 2%” — the lowest in more than two decades — from 3% or higher in prior years, according to the Asia Society Policy Institute.

The new inflation goal would act more as a ceiling than a target to be realized.

Econmists say China’s growth target of around 5% this year may be challenging to achieve, particularly amid persistently weak domestic consumption and an escalating trade dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng & Anniek Bao contributed to this report.