BEIJING, April 11 (Reuters) - China's factory inflation slowed slightly in March but beat expectations, data showed on Monday, as the country grapples with cost pressures caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and persistent supply chain bottlenecks.

The producer price index (PPI) increased 8.3% year-on-year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), easing from 8.8% growth in February but beating a forecast for a 7.9% rise in a Reuters poll.

China's consumer price index (CPI) inched up 1.5% year-on-year, after a gain of 0.9% in February, compared with 1.2% tipped by a Reuters poll.

The world's second-largest economy came under downward pressure in March with renewed COVID outbreaks and manufacturing and service sectors reporting declines in activity. (Reporting by Liangping Gao, Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam Holmes)