Overall consumer prices in China were down 0.1 percent on month in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.
That missed expectations for a flat reading following the 0.3 percent decline in March.
On a yearly basis, inflation rose 0.1 percent - also shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent and slowing from 0.7 percent in the previous month.
The bureau also said that producer prices dropped 3.6 percent on year versus expectations for a decline of 3.2 percent following the 2.5 percent contraction a month earlier.
