China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 0.1 percent year on-year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Thursday, with the increase declining for the third month in a row.

On a monthly basis, the prices were slightly down by 0.1 percent, narrowing from the 0.3-percent decline in the previous month.

NBS statistician Dong Lijuan attributed the slower year-on-year price increase to a high base in the corresponding period of 2022, when the inflation growth came in at 2.1 percent.

"In April, the market supply was generally sufficient and consumer demand gradually recovered," Dong said.

The core CPI, deducting food and energy prices, was up by 0.7 percent from a year earlier and by 0.1 percent month on month.

China is in the stage of disinflation, not deflation, said Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research at JLL Greater China. The recovery after adjustment of COVID-19 measures boosted by the Labor Day holidays could further spur CPI numbers in May, leaving less urgency for large-scale monetary easing in the near term, Pang added.

The Chinese government has taken a series of policy actions, including lowering the deposit interest rate of commercial banks, promoting employment and providing support for purchasing bulk consumer durables, all of which are positive toward boosting consumption and reversing the downward price trend, said Darius Tang, associate director of Corporates at Fitch Bohua.

China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 3.6 percent year-on-year in April, according to the bureau.

On a monthly basis, the PPI edged down 0.5 percent.

The fluctuation of international commodity prices, weak demand in domestic and foreign markets and the high comparison base of the same period last year all contributed to the decline, said Dong.

Tang commented that drops in PPI in the second half of this year may be significantly narrowed, with the continuous recovery of the economy and the easing of the high base caused by fall in energy prices end of last year.

(With input from Xinhua)