BEIJING — With the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak being kept under control and market supplies improving, consumer inflation in China is likely to ease in the following quarters, a vice-governor of the central bank said on March 22.

Chen Yulu, vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, told a press conference that although the COVID-19 outbreak's impact on consumer prices will still continue for a while, he expects the overall inflation to decline quarter by quarter as production resumes.

China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, grew 5.2 percent year-on-year in February, slightly down from the 5.4-percent gain in January.

Chen said price stability is largely subject to the economic fundamentals, and China's overall balance of supply and demand and stable macro-economy does not support long-term inflation or deflation.

The vice-governor said the central bank will pay attention to the flexibility and appropriateness when implementing the prudent monetary policy to strike a balance between ensuring growth stability, preventing risks and containing inflation.