Consumer prices likely to soften in Feb

China's two key price barometers, the producer price index and the consumer price index, are likely to register declines in February, analysts said, even as they cautioned that the rate of inflation remains a potential threat to the domestic economy during the second half of the year.

The consumer price index (CPI), an inflation rate gauge, may drop by as much as 2 percent year-on-year in February, forecasts by domestic research institutions warned. This would likely be the first negative growth since December 2002.

Tang Jianwei, an analyst with the Bank of Communications, said the February CPI would fall by 1.2-1.8 percent year-on-year. A forecast by the Industrial Bank pointed to a 2 percent drop for the same month.