According to the National Bureau of Statistics, last month China’s inflation rate remained unchanged at 2.8%. Chinese consumer prices growth stayed at the highest level over the past year and a half. The consumer price index (CPI) increased 2.8 percent year-on-year. The index advanced 0.7 percent in August compared with the previous month.

An increase in CPI was due to a rise in food cost lasting longer than expected. According to experts, food prices grew 10 percent from August last year. The cost of non-food products also rose 1.1% after 1.3% increase in July. Analysts believe that US-China trade tensions  have contributed to the price uplift. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, China’s core inflation was 1.5% unlike 1.6% in July. The producer price index dropped 0.8 percent. That is the highest level over the past three years, the National Bureau of Statistics indicated.