BEIJING — China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent year-on-year in December, down from the 2.3-percent increase a month ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Jan 12.

The CPI in 2021 climbed 0.9 percent, well below the country's annual target of approximately 3 percent. Consumer prices rose 2.5 percent and 2.9 percent in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Breaking down the inflation data in December, food prices dropped 1.2 percent from a year ago, reversing the 1.6-percent rise in November. The price of pork, a staple meat in China, slumped 36.7 percent, 4 percentage points greater than a month ago, while the prices of other farm produce from vegetables to fish and eggs registered smaller increases.

Non-food prices rose 2.1 percent from a year earlier, eased from the 2.5 percent in November.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, gained 1.2 percent year-on-year, flat with a month ago.

Data released on Jan 12 also showed the country's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went up 10.3 percent year-on-year in December.