China's consumer inflation held steady in May while producer price declines eased, but the underlying trend suggests Beijing would need to do more to prop up weakened domestic demand and an uneven economic recovery.

The consumer price index rose 0.3 percent in May from a year earlier, matching a gain in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday, below a 0.4 percent increase forecast in a Reuters poll.

The slide in the producer price index eased to 1.4 percent in May from 2.5 percent in April, compared with a forecast 1.5 percent decline.

China's economy has struggled to gain traction despite the end of stringent pandemic curbs in late 2022, mainly due to the ripple effects of a prolonged property sector crisis on investor, business and consumer confidence.

Beijing has rolled out several measures to spur demand in the housing sector and launched other schemes to boost consumer sentiment, including offering government-subsidised incentives to spur trade-ins of cars and other consumer goods.

It has also vowed to create more jobs linked to major projects, roll out measures to promote domestic demand targeted for youths and has pledged greater fiscal stimulus to shore up growth. (Reuters)