* What: China's April inflation data
* When: Monday, May 11 at 0200 GMT
* Both CPI and PPI to fall deeper into negative territory
BEIJING, May 7 (Reuters) - China probably saw a steeper drop in consumer and factory-gate prices in April, as deflationary pressure intensified in the world's third-largest economy.
The median forecast of 31 economists polled by Reuters is for the consumer price index (CPI) to have fallen 1.4 percent in April from a year earlier, compared with March's 1.2 percent drop.
It would be the third consecutive monthly fall in the CPI.
Economists expect the producer price index to be down 6.5 percent in the year to April, compared with a fall of 6.0 percent in the 12 months to March. Prices leaving the factory gate have been falling from year-earlier levels since December.
Economists are relaxed about the fall in prices, seeing it as a statistical correction of the surge in food and some industrial commodities in early 2008 rather than the harbinger of economic contraction.
China's central bank also played down the risk of deflation in a report published on Wednesday, saying domestic economic recovery and fast credit growth would put a floor under prices.
The slower pace of deterioration in the global economy also
reduced the possibility of a big, sustained fall in the price
level in China, the report said. [ID:nPEK265651]
Forecasts (percentage change from a year earlier):
Institution CPI
PPI
Bank of China -1.5
-6.5
BNP Paribas -1.5
-6.9
Bohai Securities -1.3
-7.0
China Galaxy Securities -1.4
-7.1
China Jianyin Investment -1.3
-7.0
China Merchants Securities -1.5
-6.2
China Securities -1.5
-6.9
CICC -1.4
-6.9
Citibank -1.5
-4.5
CITIC Securities -1.5
-6.9
Daiwa Institute of Research -1.0
-6.0
DBS -1.4
-6.5
Essence Securities -1.5
-6.5
Fortune Trust -1.3
-6.5
Goldman Sachs -1.4
-7.0
Guotai Junan Securities -1.4
-7.0
Hang Seng -1.0
~
HSBC -1.5
-6.5
Industrial Bank -1.4
-6.2
ING -1.1
-5.9
Merrill Lynch -1.7
-7.0
Moody's Economy.com -1.2
-6.2
Morgan Stanley -1.7
-6.5
Nomura -1.1
-5.8
Orient Securities -1.5
-7.0
Qilu Securities -1.7
-6.6
Shanghai Securities -1.5
-6.2
Shenyin & Wanguo Securities -1.3
-7.1
Southwest Securities -1.2
-6.5
SJS Markets -1.4
-6.3
UBS -1.0
-6.5
--------------------------------------------------------------
MEDIAN -1.4 -6.5
Previous month -1.2
-6.0
Year earlier 8.5
8.1
~Not available
> For the full April data poll, double-click on
[ID:nPEK362735]
> For the China indicators fixed page, double-click on