China September inflation forecast at 1.6%

BEIJING - China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) in September is likely to increase 1.6 percent year on year, higher than 1.3 percent in August, an industry report said on Tuesday.

The official CPI for September is due to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Oct 14.

The Bank of Communications said in a report that the expected rise is due to food prices, which account for around one-third of the CPI calculation.

Food prices will post an increase of between 1.9 and 2.4 percent year on year in September, with prices of vegetables, eggs and meat all increasing, said the report.

The bank expects the CPI to remain stable throughout the remainder of the year, but will see temporary increases in October and November as the National Day holidays in October will push up food prices.

China's CPI grew 1.3 percent year on year in August, down from July's 1.8 percent, according to the NBS.

The August data dropped for the fourth-consecutive month from 2.3 percent in April, when the CPI reached its highest level since July 2014.