1.4% Deflation Registered for May; PPI Contracts 7.2%

China's consumer price index dropped 1.4% in May compared to a year earlier, where the index for the urban areas was down 1.5% and for the rural areas down 1%, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. Food prices, which make up 1/3 of the inflation basket, fell 0.6%. PPI, or producer price index that measures prices for goods when leaving factory, contracted 7.2% from a year earlier as prices for raw materials and fuels dived 10.4% year-on-year.