The consumer price index (CPI), a barometer for inflation, rose 5.3 percent in April from a year ago, 0.1 percentage point lower than that of March, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The index was driven up largely by food prices, which skyrocketed 11.5 percent year on year. Residential costs went up 6.1 percent.

The producer price index (PPI), a major measure of inflation at the wholesale level, went up 6.8 percent in April, but down from 7.3 percent the previous month.

"Government measures to control consumer prices are taking effect, though inflation pressures linger," said NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun.

"Imported inflation remains a headache as global commodities prices creep up," he said. "Meanwhile, domestic costs inflation takes hold due to increased prices of labor and raw materials."

Price pressures are still uncomfortably strong, but there are some signs in the data that policy measures put in place over the last six months are having an impact, said Brian Jackson, economist with Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong.

Jackson said inflation remained high enough to warrant two more increases by the central bank in interest rates and further yuan appreciation against the U.S. dollar.