China's inflation eases to 7.7% in May

By Lydia Chen  |   2008-6-12  |     ONLINE EDITION

CHINA'S inflation rate rose at a slower pace of 7.7 percent last month, the National Bureau of Statistics announced this morning.

The consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, increased 7.7 percent last month year on year, following jumps of 8.5 percent in April and 8.3 in March.

The index jumped to a near 12-year high in February when it stood at 8.7 percent.

The CPI grew 7.3 percent in urban areas and 8.5 percent in rural areas last month, the bureau said.

Food costs, accounting for a third of the CPI basket, have been the main force propelling inflation since early 2007 as increasing prices of food stocks pushed up the cost of meat.

Food prices surged 19.9 percent year on year last month. Within the category, meat and poultry prices soared 37.8 percent in April.

The cost of pork, the nation's staple meat, increased 48 percent last month from a year ago while cooking oil prices rose 41.4 percent. Vegetable prices also increased 10.3 percent last month from a year ago. Grain prices gained 8.6 percent in the period.

The combined CPI grew 8.1 percent from January to May, the bureau said.