China's CPI rises 2.7% in Feb.

It's a big day for those who'll be wanting to know which way policy will turn on the Chinese Mainland. And one figure that's getting more than its fair share of attention is the primary gauge of inflation. And the Consumer Price Index has shot up beyond market expectations... hitting year-on-year growth of 2.7 percent for the month of February. Niu Yun with the details.

China's Consumer Price Index beat expectations, rising 2.7 percent, shooting up faster than the 1.5 percent rate of expansion posted in January. The figure is a sharp increase from the 0.6 percent rise in November, when the index finally put an end to nine months of declines.

Analysts say one reason for that sharp spike in February is the Spring Festival which fell in the middle of the month and acted as a spur to consumer spending. That's compared with last year, when a global financial crisis put a huge damper on spending.
 
Meanwhile, the producer price index or PPI, a major measure of inflation at the wholesale level, rose 5.4 percent in February. The figure rose 4.3 percent in January after going up 1.7 percent in December.

Industrial output is keeping on its track of steady growth, going up 20.7 percent. Urban fixed-asset investment has also climbed 26.6 percent so far this year, with retail sales keeping pace with a year-on-year expansion of   17.9  percent.