OREANDA-NEWS. September 12, 2012. Anhui's consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, rose 1.7 percent from a year earlier in August, up from July's 1.1 percent, driven largely by rising food prices, according to data released by the National Bureas of Statistics on Monday.

Food prices increased by 2.2 percent year-on-year, up from 0.1 percent in July, while non-food prices climbed by 1.4 percent year-on-year, down from 2.2 percent in July.

In August, vegetables surged 20.6 percent in price, compared with 6 percent a month ago, which alone lifted the CPI by 0.6 percentage points.

Analysts said the rebound in the province's CPI was influenced by a shortage of vegetable supplies. Due to lingering heat wave and violent typhoons, vegetables were in short supply in August.

Meanwhile, prices of grain, oil, aquatic products and fruits rose by 2.8 percent, 5.1 percent, 6.8 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively, contributing 0.09 percentage points, 0.06 percentage points, 0.16 percentage points and 0.19 percentage points to the inflation growth rate of 1.7 percent, the NBS said.

Prices of tobacco and alcohol edged up by 3.7 percent from a year ago, showing the highest growth rate among non-food prices.

On a monthly basis, non-food prices fell by 0.1 percent from July. Of them, apparel prices saw the sharpest decline of 1.5 percent, as sellers offered discounts on summer wear.

Experts suggested the worldwide hike in gasoline prices may continue to push up costs of housing, transportation and communication.