BEIJING -- China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, fell 1.5 percent year on year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.

It was the third decline in a row since February, when the CPI dropped 1.6 percent, which in turn was the first fall since October 2002.

The result was in line with market expectations and analyst forecasts.

Food prices, which comprise one-third of the CPI, dropped 1.3 percent, dragged down by a 28.6-percent decline in pork prices as demand plummeted amid a global flu outbreak thought to be connected with pigs.

Non-food prices fell 1.5 percent.

The index was down 0.2 percent from a month earlier, and the figure for January-April fell 0.8 percent from the same period last year.

Lian Ping, chief economist with the Bank of Communications, said the weakening reflected the high base of comparison, since the CPI soared by 8.5 percent last April. The consecutive declines did not presage deflation, and the figure was expected to rise starting at mid-year.