China's consumer inflation faster than expected

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch)
China's consumer price index rose slightly more than expected in April, while wholesale prices extended their fall, sending Chinese stock indexes down from their pre-market levels
The April CPI showed a gain of 2.4% from a year earlier, led by a 4% rise in food prices, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday
The gain was more than March's 2.1%, though below February's spike of 3.2%
A survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires had yielded a 2.2% forecast, while a Reuters poll had called for a 2.3% advance
The producer price index, meanwhile, fell by the most since October, dropping 2.6% against a decline of 1.9% in March
Both Reuters and Dow Jones Newswires had tipped a 2.3% drop
Chinese shares lost ground after the numbers, which would tend to reduce the odds of Beijing maintaining a loose monetary policy