China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 1.8 percent in May year-on-year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Saturday.

The growth of consumer inflation in May was slower than expected, down by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month.

China's producer price index (PPI), which measures the cost of goods at the factory gate, rose 4.1 percent year-on-year in May, the NBS said.

It was up from the 0.4 percent recorded in April, driven by growth in factory prices in the mining industry and raw material sector.