China’s consumer prices rose less than economists forecast in April, suggesting the central bank may need to add to its recent monetary easing to spur a pickup in domestic demand. The consumer-prices index rose 1.5 percent from a year earlier, compared with the median estimate of 1.6 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts, a release from China’s statistics authority showed in Beijing. The producer-prices index fell 4.6 percent, extending a record stretch of declines. The central bank has cut benchmark interest rates and the required deposit reserve ratio twice in the past six months to aid growth. Central ... (full story)