BEIJING China's consumer prices returned to positive territory in August while factory-gate price declines slowed, data showed on Saturday, as deflationary pressures eased amid signs of stabilisation in the economy.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.1% in August from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said, slower than the median estimate for a 0.2% increase in a Reuters poll. CPI fell 0.3% year-on-year in July.

The producer price index (PPI) fell 3.0% from a year earlier - in line with expectations - after a drop of 4.4% in July.

The government has rolled out a raft of policy measures in recent weeks to spur economic growth and fend off deflation pressures.

(Reporting by Joe Cash and Kevin Yao; Editing by Sam Holmes and William Mallard)