China inflation slows sharply

China's inflation slowed sharply in November, kept in check by slower price rises for food as government efforts to rein in the economy began to bite, official data showed Friday.

The National Bureau of Statistics said the November Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.8 percent year-on-year, compared with 4.3 percent in October and 3.0 percent in November 2003.

The figure was sharply down on gains of 5.2 percent in September and 5.3 percent in both August and July.

For the 11 months to November, CPI was up 4.0 percent year-on-year, compared with 1.0 percent in the same period 2003.

Urban consumer prices in November rose 2.4 percent year-on-year, while rural CPI was up 3.6 percent on a yearly basis, the bureau said in a statement.