China January inflation flat at 2.5% year-on-year

China's CPI, a main gauge of inflation, rose by 2.6% in 2013, unchanged from 2012 and well below the 3.5% target set by the government - AFP Photo.

BEIJING: China's inflation rate was steady at 2.5% year-on-year in January, the government said Friday.

The consumer price index (CPI) figure announced by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was unchanged from December, but higher than the median 2.3% expected in a poll of 11 economists by the Wall Street Journal.