China consumer inflation up 2.3% in February

China’s consumer price index surged last month as food prices rose over the Chinese New Year holiday period, South China Morning Post reported, citing figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics. January had seen the index rise a more modest 1.8%. The official government target for CPI is a 3% rise this year. Meanwhile, the producer price index fell 4.9% year on year last month, having dropped 5.3% in January. However, it is not clear producer inflation trends are a sign of recovery for manufacturing companies, which are struggling with heavy debts and falling profitability.