China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.4 percent year on year in May, moderating from the 3.3-percent growth in April, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices went down 0.8 percent. Food prices, which account for nearly one-third of weighting in China's CPI, dropped 3.5 percent last month.

Compared with the same period last year, food prices remained the main driver of consumer inflation in May, while its growth rate tapered from April to 10.6 percent.