The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported Thursday that China’s consumer price index (CPI) increased 0.8 percent y-o-y in August, decelerating from July's 1.0 percent y-o-y increase. That was the lowest inflation rate since March and below economists’ forecast for a 1.0 percent y-o-y gain.

The weaker August inflation reflected slowed growth of non-food prices (+1.9 percent y-o-y, compared with +2.1 percent y-o-y in July) and accelerated decline in food prices (-4.1 percent y-o-y, compared with -3.7 percent y-o-y in July).

China’s core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy prices, went up 1.2 percent y-o-y in August after a 1.3 percent y-o-y advance in July.

In m-o-m terms, the CPI edged up 0.1 percent in August, following a 0.3 percent gain in the previous month.

Meanwhile, China’s producer price index (PPI) surged 9.5 percent y-o-y in August, accelerating from July’s climb of 9.0 percent y-o-y. This represented the fastest pace of growth in factory-gate prices since August 2008. Economists had forecast a 9.0 percent y-o-y increase.

The NBS attributed the August jump in PPI mainly to soaring prices of products such as coal, chemicals and steel. Output prices in the coal mining industry rose the most, up 57.1 percent y-o-y in August.

The PPI rose 0.7 percent m-o-m in August, accelerating from 0.5 percent m-o-m in July.