China June inflation forecast at 1.9%

BEIJING - China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) in June is likely to increase 1.9 percent year on year, slightly less than the 2 percent recorded in May, according to an industry report.

The official CPI for June is due to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on July 10.

The Bank of Communications said in a report that the slowing inflation is due to falling vegetable and other food prices, which account for around one-third of the CPI calculation.

The CPI for May grew 2 percent year on year, narrowed from the 2.3-percent growth rate registered in the previous three consecutive months, when the CPI remained at its highest level since July 2014.

The report also forecast that economic growth in the second quarter remained steady and that GDP expanded 6.7 percent year on year.

The country's GDP expanded 6.7 percent year on year in the first quarter, the slowest growth since the global financial crisis but still in line with the official 2016 target range of between 6.5 percent and 7 percent.