China's consumer prices hit 35-month high in June

China's consumer prices rose 6.4 percent in June from a year earlier hitting a 35-month high, due to soaring food costs, government data showed Saturday. Last month's growth in the consumer price index (CPI) was also up from a 5.5 percent gain in May, China's National Bureau of Statistics said. China's inflation gauge grew more than 5 percent for the fourth straight month and exceeded 6 percent for the first time since July 2008. June's consumer inflation rate also fell in the upper range of the market estimates of 6.2-6.5 percent. Food prices led the overall CPI growth, jumping 14.4 percent compared to the same month a year earlier. They rose at a double-digit pace for the sixth consecutive month. Non-food prices rose 3 percent, reflecting pass-alongs of higher raw material costs and property prices. Both food prices and non-food prices also grew on-month, as they recorded increases of 11.7 percent and 2.9 percent respectively in May. The agency also said the country's producer price index rose 7.1 percent on-year in June, indicating that consumer prices in the coming months will continue to face upward pressure. The Chinese government is expected to continue to maintain its tightening measures, putting its top policy priority on reining in runaway inflation. "The battle against inflation is still on, although China's tightening cycle is likely close to the end," said Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC, forecasting inflation will start to slow in China in the second half this year. "That said Beijing isn't done tightening just yet."