China Aug consumer inflation cools to 2%, beats forecasts

Analysts had expected inflation to ease to 2.2%

China's annual consumer inflation slowed more than expected to 2% in August, data showed on Thursday, further evidence that the economy is cooling but giving more room to policymakers for further stimulus measures if needed.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected consumer inflation to ease slightly to 2.2% in August from 2.3% in July.

On a monthly basis, consumer inflation ran at 0.2% in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That was half of what economists had expected.

The producer price index fell 1.2% for the 30th consecutive month, as weak economic conditions continue to rob Chinese companies of pricing power. The market had expected a 1.1% decline in producer prices after a drop of 0.9% in July.