Low inflation marks weak growth

Factory prices fall 1.7 percent from a year ago; expert calls for further monetary policy support

Inflation remained low in July, with a slight drop in factory prices, indicating that economic growth remains weak and the country still needs to relax its monetary policy to help the corporate sector and jazz up economic activity, analysts said.

The consumer price index rose 1.8 percent in July from a year earlier, compared with 1.9 percent in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. It matched with the January reading, the lowest this year.