BEIJING - China's consumer inflation saw a mild increase in April, driven by higher consumer demand, official data showed Saturday.

The consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, edged up 0.3 percent year-on-year in April, up 0.2 percentage points from March, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1 percent in April, reversing the 1 percent fall from the previous month.

Food prices went down 2.7 percent year-on-year in April, with the pace of decrease remaining flat with that in March, according to the NBS.

The core CPI, deducting food and energy prices, went up 0.7 percent year-on-year last month, expanding 0.1 percentage points from March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics

Prices of eggs, beef, fresh fruits, mutton and poultry all reported widened year-on-year declines, while those of pork and fresh vegetables reversed from contractions seen in March, growing by 1.4 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Non-food prices went up 0.9 percent year-on-year in April, expanding by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, according to the NBS.

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In breakdown, energy prices gained 3.6 percent year-on-year, 2.3 percentage points higher than that in March, while that of fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles posted narrowed drops of 4.8 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively.

The core CPI, deducting food and energy prices, went up 0.7 percent year-on-year last month, expanding 0.1 percentage points from March, according to the NBS.

Commenting on the April data, Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, attributed the CPI growth to holiday-related service consumption and higher energy prices, driven by international price hikes.

But factors weighing down the CPI also exist, Wen noted, citing sufficient food supply due to good weather conditions in recent days and slumping prices of major durable goods such as vehicles and cellphones.

The pork prices, which have undergone long-term capacity cut-off, and prices of regular services, both posted stable performance, Wen said.

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Looking ahead, China's CPI is expected to gradually increase, driven by the robust momentum of the Chinese economy and rising demand, which are significant factors supporting CPI growth, said Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS, at a press conference last month.

PPI down 2.5 percent

Saturday's data also showed that China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 2.5 percent year-on-year last month.

Among the major industries, the PPI of the oil and gas extraction industry went up 3.4 percent month-on-month, while that of the petroleum, coal and other fuel processing sectors rose 1 percent from the previous month as international price increase drove up domestic prices in industries related to oil and non-ferrous metals

The decrease narrowed from a 2.8-percent decline in March. On a monthly basis, the PPI edged down 0.2 percent, widening from a 0.1-percent decrease a month earlier, the data showed.

In April, industrial production continued to recover, but the demand in some sectors experienced a temporary decline, said NBS statistician Dong Lijuan.

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Among the major industries, the PPI of the oil and gas extraction industry went up 3.4 percent month-on-month, while that of the petroleum, coal and other fuel processing sectors rose 1 percent from the previous month as international price increase drove up domestic prices in industries related to oil and non-ferrous metals.

Coal supply is sufficient, and the demand for thermal coal saw a seasonal decline, causing the PPI of the coal mining and washing industry to decrease by 3 percent month-on-month in April.

The carry-over effect of last year's price movements dragged down the year-on-year PPI decline by 1.8 percentage points last month, according to Dong.