China's CPI rises for the fifth straight month

China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose by 0.2 percent year-on-year in June, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

The country's producer price index, which gauges factory-gate prices, dropped by 0.8 percent from a year ago in June, the NBS said. The PPI in June posted the smallest drop in 17 months, reported Hong Kong Economic Times on July 10.

China's CPI has maintained positive growth on a yearly basis for five straight months, the report said, adding that last month's core CPI, which strips out food and energy prices, rose 0.6 percent, continuing a modest rise.

With some seasonal vegetables, fruits and aquatic products plenty on the market, the prices of fresh vegetables, potatoes, fresh fruits, and shrimp and crabs fell seasonally, which affected the CPI by about 0.25 percentage point's decrease in June, said Dong Lijuan, an NBS statistician.

The "618" shopping festival also pulled down the prices of automobiles, household appliances and durable consumer goods for entertainment at 0.8 percent to 1.3 percent, she added.

Consumer prices are expected to maintain a moderate recovery trend in the second half of the year, with pork prices gradually pushing up consumer prices, said Zhou Maohua, a researcher at China Everbright Bank.

The implementation of macro policies is expected to be further strengthened to accelerate the recovery of consumption and domestic demand in the next half of year, he said.