(Yicai Global) April 11 -- China's economy faced inflationary pressure last month as the consumer price index growth climbed to the highest level since October 2018.

The CPI increased 2.3 percent from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement today. That is in line with the 2.32 percent gain predicted by a group of 21 chief economists surveyed earlier by Yicai Global. The inflation gauge logged 1.5 percent in February, and 1.9 percent in January.

Food was one of the main drivers behind price hikes. The food subcategory jumped 4.1 percent in March from a year earlier, compared with a 3.2 percent increase in February due to a seasonal rise in vegetable and pork prices, according to the NBS.

The producer price index, which measures manufacturers' output prices, accelerated to 0.4 percent last month, compared with February's 0.1 percent gain. The economists that Yicai Global surveyed expected the PPI to gain 0.5 percent. In the first quarter, it rose 0.2 percent from a year ago.

China aims to keep the CPI at around 3 percent this year, according to a governmental report released last month.

Editor: Emmi Laine