Overall consumer prices in China were up 0.1 percent on month in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.
That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.5 percent contraction in November.
On an annual basis, inflation fell 0.3 percent versus forecasts for a decline of 0.4 percent after slipping 0.5 percent in the previous month.
The bureau also said that producer prices sank 2.7 percent on year, missing forecasts for a decline of 2.6 percent after sinking 3.0 percent a month earlier.
