China's consumer inflation eases to 2.4 pct in August

Residents buy vegetables at a newly opened supermarket near the Xinfadi market in Beijing on Aug 15, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer inflation eased in August as economic activities gradually recovered after effective epidemic containment in the country, official data showed Wednesday.

China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, grew 2.4 percent year on year last month, moderating from the 2.7-percent gain in July, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.4 percent. Food prices, which account for nearly one-third of weighting in China's CPI, climbed 1.4 percent last month.

In breakdown, pork prices climbed 1.2 percent over rising demand in spite of increased supplies, and vegetable prices hiked 6.4 percent from July as high temperatures and heavy rainfall affected supplies.

Food prices remained the main driver of consumer inflation in August, rising 11.2 percent year on year and contributing 2.33 percentage points to the growth of CPI.

In the first eight months of this year, CPI went up 3.5 percent year on year on average.

Wednesday's data also showed China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, fell 2 percent year on year in August.