Inflation in food prices slows

BEIJING - A rise in the price of most food items included in a government-monitored list slowed between Feb 1 and 10, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

The average rise in the prices of 29 food items in 50 major cities during the first 10 days of February is close to 2.6 percent, down from the 4.6 percent seen in the last 10 days of January, the data showed.

From the list, the price of bananas increased the most, by 10.1 percent. Meanwhile, the price of vegetables surged by 5.2 percent on average, compared with the 14.1 percent increase in the previous month. Prices of four food items, including rapeseed oil and peanut oil, decreased slightly.