BEIJING — China’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.9 percent year-on-year in February, up from 1.5 percent for January, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on March 9.

The Spring Festival, in February this year but in January last year, contributed to the increase due to a low comparison base, NBS statistician Sheng Guoqing said.

Holiday demand pushed up food prices by 4.4 percent and non-food prices by 2.5 percent year on year in February.

“As holiday factors ebb, the March CPI increase will decline,” Sheng said.

On a month-on-month basis, CPI was up 1.2 percent from January, mainly due to Spring Festival demand and low temperatures that drove up the prices of some agricultural products.

This year, China expects CPI to increase by around 3 percent.

China’s producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, rose 3.7 percent year on year in February, down from a growth of 4.3 percent in January, according to the bureau.