China falls deeper into deflation, with consumer prices suffering biggest fall since 2009

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China’s consumer prices have slid deeper into deflationary territory, suffering their biggest drop since the height of the global financial crisis in 2009.

The country’s Consumer Price Index, a gauge of price changes in goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households, dropped 0.8% in January from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

It was the steepest fall for the index since September 2009 and marks a fourth straight month of decline.

But some analysts say the deflationary trend may have already bottomed out.

— This is a developing story and will be updated.