Factory and consumer inflation in China picked up in March, indicating some much-needed stability in the world's number two economy though analysts warned it is not yet out of the woods.

Beijing has struggled to get prices to pick up in recent months, with both measures staying stubbornly low as the global growth cools leading to weak demand while the US trade war drags on.

But on Thursday data showed the consumer price index (CPI) -- a key measure of retail inflation -- rose 2.3 percent on-year last month, sharply up from 1.5 percent in February.

The gain came on the back of a jump in the price of meat including beef and lamb, with pork also soaring owing to an outbreak of African swine flu in China that has led to the culling of a million pigs. Fresh fruit and vegetable prices also jumped.

The producer price index (PPI) -- an important barometer of domestic demand -- climbed 0.4 percent, from a 0.1 percent in February and snapping seven months of falling.

The CPI and PPI readings were in line with forecasts in a Bloomberg survey but economists remain sceptical about the outlook.

There is "no turnaround in underlying inflation yet", said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics.

"Higher food and oil prices pushed up headline inflation last month but broader price pressures remain subdued," said Evans-Pritchard, attributing the rise in factory gate prices to rising raw material costs such as oil.

Growth in China dropped to 6.6 percent last year, its lowest almost three decades and the government last month said it was aiming for expansion of between six and 6.5 percent in 2019.

"Continued economic weakness is likely to keep a lid on broader price pressures," said Evans-Pritchard.

-- Bloomberg News contributed to this story --

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China factory activity up after four-month slide
Beijing (AFP) March 31, 2019
China's manufacturing sector ended its four-month downward trend in March, official data showed Sunday, but exports continued their long slide in the wake of the Washington-Beijing trade war. The official Purchasing Managers' Index, a measure of factory activity, rose to 50.5 in March from the previous month's contraction and three-year low of 49.2. The growth was likely driven by seasonal factors as factories ramped up production after February's Lunar New Year holidays. Some steel mills ... read more