China’s consumer price index (CPI) in September will continue sending mixed signals for the country’s policy makers who view inflation control as the government’s top priority this year, experts say.

On an annual basis, the growth of CPI, a main gauge of inflation, is expected to ease further in September to 6 percent to 6.2 percent, compared with August’s 6.2 percent, due to the weakening carryover effect of last year, according to the projection by Guohai Securities, quoted by China Securities Journal.

But on a month-on-month basis, the September CPI will be higher than August, driven up by food-price increases, according to Guohai Securities.

The recent declines in futures prices of farm products in global markets created very good conditions for China’s efforts to contain food price hikes, said Prof. Song Guoqing, director of the China Center for Economic Research with Peking University.

“But it’s too early to say whether the downside of inflation will continue in September,” Song said.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), food prices kept rising in 50 major Chinese cities since September, even though the increases were moderate.

Yao Jingyuan, former spokesman of the NBS, said as the government’s cumulative monetary tightening measures began taking effect, the inflation is now on downside and will ease further in the fourth quarter of this year.

Yao now works as a special researcher with the Councillor’s Office of the State Council, or China’s Cabinet.

The CPI rose to a 27-month high year-on-year to 6.5 percent in July and weakened slightly to 6.2 percent in August.

Source:Xinhua