China's inflation up 2% in August

BEIJING - China's inflation rate eased to 2 percent year on year in August, marking the lowest level in four months, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, increased 2 percent year on year in August, compared with 2.3 percent in July.

Higher food prices were the main contributor to the CPI growth, Food prices in August rose 3 percent from a year ago, lifting the CPI by 1.01 percentage points.

In the food category, the price of fresh fruit surged 21.2 percent, increasing the CPI by 0.41 percentage points. Meanwhile, prices of pork, a staple of the Chinese diet, dropped 3.1 percent, dragging down the CPI reading by 0.1 percentage points.

For the first eight months, China's CPI rose 2.2 percent from a year ago, which was far lower than the government full-year inflation control target of 3.5 percent.

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