China consumer inflation milder than expected

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- China's March consumer inflation came in below expectations, while wholesale prices fell roughly as forecast. The consumer price index rose 2.1% from a year earlier, a milder gain than the 2.4% projected in a Dow Jones Newswires survey. The result marked a considerable cooling from February's 3.2% rise, though was still above January's 2% inflation rate. Services helped lead the rise, increasing 3.1% from the year-ago period, while food prices rose 2.7%. The producer price index, meanwhile, fell 1.9%, just below the Dow Jones Newswires forecast for a 2% drop. Hong Kong stocks extended their opening gains after the data, with the Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) rising 1.1%, up from a 0.7% advance ahead of the numbers.