Inflation in China is likely to have eased to below six percent in August, which would be the fourth straight month of deceleration, state media reported Wednesday, citing a government economist.
Slowing growth in food prices and a moderate slowdown in the overall economy helped curb price increases, the China Securities Journal reported, citing Fan Jianping, chief economist of the State Information Centre.
Chinese economic growth slowed to 10.4 percent in the first half of 2008 from 11.9 percent for all of last year on weakening export growth due to the global slowdown.
The consumer price index rose 6.3 percent from a year earlier in July.