Consumer inflation in China rose to 1.5 percent in April, authorities said Saturday, potentially easing concerns over deflation in the world's second-largest economy.

The rise in the consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was the highest since December, and a slight increase on March's 1.4 percent.

Moderate inflation can be a boon to consumption as it encourages consumers to buy before prices go up, while falling prices encourage shoppers to delay purchases and companies to put off investment, both of which can hurt growth.

Concerns about the risk of deflation in China have been on the rise especially after January's slump in consumer inflation to 0.8 percent, the lowest since November 2009.

Separately, the producer price index (PPI) -- a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate and a leading indicator of the trend for CPI -- declined for the 38th consecutive month in April, the NBS said.

The 4.6 percent fall was the same as in March. PPI last rose more than three years ago.