China's inflation rises 1.7% in Oct

The inflation rate, which dropped to its slowest pace since January 2010 in October, dropped from 1.9 percent in September and 2 percent in August.

On a month-on-month basis, October's CPI fell 0.1 percent from the previous month, according to a statement posted on the website of the NBS.

Analysts said slowing growth in food prices and fewer carryover effects from last year contributed to the slight drop.

"Prices for food, including vegetables and pork, posted slower growth, leading to the slight drop in inflation," said Zhang Liqun, an analyst with the Development Research Center of the State Council.

Food prices, which account for nearly one-third of the weighting in the calculation of China's CPI, rose 1.8 percent last month from one year earlier. This was down from the 2.5-percent increase logged in September.

Prices for pork, the country's staple meat, slumped 15.8 percent year on year in October due to abundant supplies, dragging the CPI down 0.6 percentage points.

"The decline was smaller than the 3.6-percent decrease in September, indicating that the economy has been stabilizing," Zhang said.

The PPI data was in line with the country's latest purchasing managers index (PMI), which rose to 50.2 percent in October from 49.8 percent in September, suggesting that manufacturing activity has improved.

In the first 10 months, the CPI grew 2.7 percent year on year on average, showing a further decline from the 3.3-percent rise in the first half of the year.

"We expect the mild inflation trend to persist in the first half of 2013," said Li Huiyong, chief economist for the Shenyin Wanguo Securities Co.

Although the country is poised to meet its target of keeping inflation under 4 percent for the full year, analysts have warned of rising consumer prices in November and December as the cold weather will likely push up vegetable and meat prices.