government said wednesday

China's inflation rate eased to 4.9 percent in August — the lowest in 14 months — indicating efforts to cool a yearlong surge in politically volatile consumer prices were working, the government said Wednesday.

China's politically sensitive consumer inflation eased in August to a 14-month low, the government said Wednesday, and analysts said Beijing might shift from fighting price rises to revving up the slowing economy.

Average domestic airfares rose 4.4 percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier, the government said Wednesday in an analysis that was based on a small sample of itineraries and excluded some high-priced destinations.

China's robust economy slowed only slightly in the first quarter despite global gloom while inflation stayed above 8 percent in March, the government said Wednesday, adding to pressure to rein in prices that are battering Chinese consumers.