China’s consumer prices grew at the slowest pace in five years in November as its factory gate price further declined, signalling room for more easing measures by the Chinese government.

The National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday the November consumer price index rose by 1.4 percent from a year earlier, the lowest rate since November 2009.

The decline in the producer price index in November, meanwhile, deepened to 2.7 percent, compared with 2.2 percent in October, the bureau said.

Yu Qiumei, a senior statistician at the bureau, explained the easing inflation was partially due to “seasonal factors”.

The recent slump in international oil prices also dragged down both the consumer price index and the producer price index in November, Ms Yu reasoned.

Such sluggish performance may result in more easing measures by Beijing “in the next few months”, Xinhua, China’s official news agency, quoted analysts as saying.

The People’s Bank of China last month made the first interest cut in more than two years to lower private financing costs in a bid to spur the economy.