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BEIJING — China's inflation edged higher in May amid signs that the third-largest economy's rapid rebound from the global downturn is slowing.
Consumer prices in May rose 3.1 percent from a year earlier, accelerating from April's 2.8 percent rate, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday. That was driven by a 6.1 percent rise in politically sensitive food costs, up from April's 5.8 percent gain.
Higher inflation in recent months has prompted concern that Beijing might hike interest rates to cool economic growth that surged to 11.9 percent in the first quarter. The official inflation target for the year is 3 percent but the government has not said what steps it might take if price rises exceed that level.
Other data reported Friday showed economic activity slowing slightly but still expanding at double-digit annual rates.
Investment in factories and other fixed assets — watched closely by economists as an indicator of future growth — rose 25.9 percent, but that was down from April's 26.1 percent expansion. Growth in industrial output slipped to 16.5 percent, down from the previous month's 18.8 percent rate.
