CPI down 0.2 pct in February

People select food at a supermarket in Pingyi County, Linyi City, east China's Shandong Province.

Consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, declined 0.2 percent year on year in February due to a higher comparison base last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Wednesday.

Food prices went down 0.2 percent year on year, dragging down the consumer inflation by 0.05 percentage points, according to the data.

The decline was largely driven by the carryover effect as the COVID-19 outbreak boosted prices of consumer goods in February last year and resulted in a higher base.

The carryover effect sent the CPI inflation down by 1.8 percentage points, while new price increases pulled the growth up by 1.6 percentage points, the NBS data showed.

Editor：Lotus