China's inflation rate accelerated last month, indicating ongoing efforts by the government to stimulate spending in the world's second-largest economy.

According to official data released on Saturday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.3 percent year-on-year in April. This marks the third consecutive month of positive growth and surpassed the 0.2 percent rise forecasted by Bloomberg analysts. The April CPI rise also represents an increase from the 0.1 percent reported last month.

The NBS attributed the uptick in CPI to continued rebounding household consumption demand, leading to an expansion in year-on-year increase.

However, the producer price index (PPI) continued to struggle, registering a 2.5 percent year-on-year decline. This marks a persistent deflationary trend that has been ongoing since the end of 2022.

Chinese policymakers have been making efforts to encourage consumer spending, but the outcomes have been mixed. Challenges such as a real estate debt crisis and high unemployment have dampened economic prospects, contributing to weakened demand.

Despite these obstacles, Beijing has set a target of around five percent GDP growth for this year. However, authorities have acknowledged that achieving this goal will pose significant challenges.