Changzhou's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.5 percent year-on-year in March, the Changzhou Investigation Team of National Bureau of Statistics said on April 15.

On a month-on-month basis, the CPI was the same as in February. Food prices climbed 0.4 percent year-on-year last month, down 1.7 percentage points from January. Non-food prices decreased 0.1 percent month on month.

After the Spring Festival holiday, the prices of eggs, aquatic products and fresh vegetables saw significant decline last month, down 5.6 percent, 3.4 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively, from February. The prices of edible animal oil, mutton and chicken decreased 3.0%, 2.2% and 1.0%, respectively, from one month earlier. They contributed 0.1 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI decline. The price of pork rose significantly, up 3.4% percent from the previous month, contributing about 0.06 percentage points to the CPI growth.

Due to the decline in travel demands, the prices of air tickets, travel agency fees and hotel accommodation fell by 12.6%, 10.3% and 3.3%, respectively, which contributed about 0.33 percentage points to the month-on-month CPI decline. Gasoline and diesel prices rose 3.7 percent and 4.6 percent respectively, which together contributed about 0.11 percentage points to the CPI growth.

On a year-on-year basis, the CPI for March rose 2.5 percent. Food prices climbed 3.9 percent, contributing 0.65 percentage points to the year-on-year CPI growth. Non-food prices rose 2.3 percent, contributing 1.89 percentage points to the CPI growth.