China inflation growth expected to ease

China's inflation in August is expected to ease to about 6 percent from July's 37-month high of 6.5 percent, some economists said Tuesday. The August consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, will be released Friday. The economists told China Daily that food prices, blamed for much of China's inflation, are stabilizing. Food prices account for 30 percent of the basket of goods used to calculate inflation. China's inflation, which has risen despite several measures by the central bank, has become a major concern for policymakers during a worsening global economy that is also threatening Chinese exports. Prices of pork, a key item in China's food inflation, have remained relatively stable, Wang Guogang at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told China Daily. "The (CPI) number could fall even more in the fourth quarter of this year," he said. Peng Wensheng, chief economist at China International Capital Corp Ltd, said August CPI growth could fall to 6 percent. July's 6.5 percent inflation was blamed on a 14.8 percent increase in food prices. Jing Ulrich, managing director at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in China, said China's tightening monetary policy, which has included three interest rate hikes this year, would help gradually bring down inflation. However, he warned the inflationary pressure may not ease in the long term because of increasing labor costs and excessive market liquidity.