BEIJING, March 30 -- China's consumer price index (CPI) is expected to grow by about 0.8 percent in March from the same month of 2016, the Bank of Communications said Thursday.

The official CPI in March, a main gauge of inflation, is due to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on April 12.

A drop in vegetable, egg and poultry product prices may drag down the March CPI, as food prices account for nearly one-third of the prices used, according to the bank's report.

The growth of food prices in March is expected to decrease 2.5 percentage points from last month, said the report.

Annual CPI growth this year will be well below the official target of around 3 percent against the backdrop of subdued consumer demand, and prudent and neutral monetary policy, according to the report.

China's CPI rose 0.8 percent year on year in February, substantially lower than the 2.5-percent growth in January, NBS data showed.