China’s inflation rate rises following Lunar New Year and virus outbreak

China’s inflation rate rises following Lunar New Year and virus outbreak

China’s consumer prices increased at is fastest pace in more than eight years in January, according to official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

The consumer price index CPI) came in at 5.4% last month on-year which went higher than the expected 4.9% increase and the 4.5% in December.

The latest inflation figure is the highest since October 2011.

The rise in CPI was mainly attributed to the extended Lunar New Year and the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the NBS said in a statement.

“The year-on-year increase has been affected not only by Spring Festival-related factors but… by the new coronavirus as well,” said the NBS on Monday.