China’s inflation data for March produced small positive surprises, but remained tepid, with little sign that Beijing’s easing measures to date have significantly cut worrisome deflationary pressure. In March, China’s annual consumer inflation rate (CPI) stayed flat at 1.4 percent, above a poll’s projected 1.3 percent. Producer prices (PPI) fell slightly less than projected, contracting 4.6 percent rather than the forecasted repeat of February’s 4.8 percent pace.