China's August CPI forecast at 2.2 pct

BEIJING -- China's consumer price index (CPI) growth for August is expected to be 2.2 percent, according to China Merchants Securities (CMS).

The August CPI, a main gauge of inflation, is due to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Sept 10.

A rise in food prices in August may push up CPI growth, as food prices account for nearly one-third of the CPI, said Xie Yaxuan, chief analyst at CMS.

Food prices are predicted to have increased by 2.6 percent from July, affected by extreme weather during August and the outbreak of African swine fever in Anhui and Heilongjiang provinces, Xie said.

China is aiming to keep annual CPI growth at around 3 percent this year, the same as the target for 2017.

China's CPI rose 2.1 percent year on year in July, compared with 1.9 percent for June, data from the NBS showed.

The average year-on-year CPI growth for the January-July period stood at 2 percent, according to the NBS.