BEIJING: China’s consumer prices fell in January after a brief improvement at the end of last year, as the world’s second-biggest economy was hit by the impact of fresh coronavirus outbreaks and decreased travel, official data showed Wednesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of retail inflation, fell 0.3 percent from a year ago, with the National Bureau of Statistics saying that residents travelled less given a series of lockdowns in northern China and more restrictions.