Food prices push China's September inflation to 7-month high

Beijing

INFLATION rose to a seven-month high in September mainly driven by a busy holiday season and bad weather but should not lead to tightening as China's economy is just beginning to rebound and still has room to grow.

CPI rose 3.1 per cent last month against 2.6 per cent in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Though a seasonal pickup was expected, analysts had expected inflation to remain under 3 per cent.

The NBS said a sharp rise in food prices was mostly responsible for the unexpected spike due to a major typhoon which hit the eastern and southern coasts last month. China was also on holiday in late September …