Customers select fruit at a supermarket in Xinle, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 9, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

The decline in China's consumer prices in February was mainly driven by the effects of the Spring Festival holiday and fluctuations in global commodity prices, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sunday.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, was down 0.7% year on year in February, according to the NBS.

The prices in urban areas and rural areas both decreased by 0.7% from one year earlier, the NBS data showed.

In breakdown, food prices declined 3.3% year on year, non-food prices edged down 0.1% year on year, consumer goods prices decreased 0.9% year on year and service prices slipped 0.4% year on year last month.

From January to February, on average, the national consumer price decreased 0.1% over the same period last year.

On a monthly basis, the CPI dropped 0.2% in February, the NBS data showed.

NBS statistician Dong Lijuan said that the year-on-year CPI decline in February was primarily due to a higher base in the same month last year. Last February, food and service prices increased significantly during the traditional Spring Festival holiday, creating a high base effect that contributed to this year's decline.

The Spring Festival follows the traditional lunar calendar, causing it to fall on different dates around late January or early February each year. In 2024, the festival fell in February, driving up food and service prices; in contrast, the festival fell in January this year.

Moreover, the price of fresh vegetables in February dropped by 12.6% year on year, as favorable weather conditions during the period supported vegetable growth and transportation, further contributing to the CPI decline, Dong explained.

In February, prices for fossil fuel cars and new energy vehicles plunged 5% and 6% year on year, respectively, due to promotions and discounts, which also weighed on the CPI decline, Dong said.

After adjusting for the effects of the Spring Festival holiday, the CPI rose by 0.1% year on year in February, and the trend of moderate price recovery remains unchanged, Dong noted.

China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 2.2% year on year in February, the NBS data also revealed on Sunday.

The decline in February was 0.1 percentage points less than the previous month, the NBS data showed.

Prices in the ferrous metal smelting and pressing industry fell 10.6% year on year in February due to weakening demand for building materials around the Spring Festival holiday, Dong said.

In addition, due to adequate coal supply during the holiday, coal processing prices fell 24.7% year on year, Dong added.

Fluctuations in global oil prices have driven a decline in domestic oil-related industry prices. In February, oil exploitation prices dropped by 5.1% year on year.

Meanwhile, as macroeconomic policies gradually took effect, production demand in certain industries increased, leading to a slowdown in the decline of the PPI, Dong said.