China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 0.5 percent year on year in January, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Sunday.

CPI growth saw an accelerated increase, with the year-on-year growth widening from 0.1 percent in December and the month-on-month gain reaching 0.7 percent. NBS chief statistician Dong Lijuan attributed the growth to the Chinese New Year holiday.

The core CPI, which deducts food and energy prices, climbed 0.6 percent year on year in January, according to the NBS.

Meanwhile, due to factors including the Chinese New Year holiday, industrial production remained in a seasonal low, Dong said. The NBS data also showed the country's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, saw a 2.3 percent year-on-year drop and a 0.2 percent month-on-month decline.