BEIJING, June 12 -- China's consumer prices gained for the fourth straight month in May in the latest sign of a steady domestic demand recovery, official data showed Wednesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, was up 0.3 percent year on year last month, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The core CPI, deducting food and energy prices, went up 0.6 percent to keep the upward trajectory.

"The consumer market continued its stable performance in May," NBS statistician Dong Lijuan said.

On a monthly basis, the CPI inched down 0.1 percent in May, softening from the 0.1-percent increase in April. The decrease was smaller than the 0.2-percent drop on average in the same period of the recent 10 years.