China's consumer price index ( CPI) in the first half of this year rose by 2.3 percent, lower than the 3.6-percent level for the same period of last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday.

The CPI, an important index for inflation, rose by 1.9 percent in cities and 2.9 percent in rural areas, said NBS spokesman Zheng Jingping at a press conference.

In terms of commodity categories, food price rose by 4.4 percent, housing price grew by 5.7 percent, and the prices for recreation, education and culture articles and services rose by 2.7 percent, according to NBS figures.

The prices for other categories of commodities either maintained the same level or declined slightly, Zheng said.

"The growth rate of consumer prices slowed down steadily with the monthly CPI growth standing at 1.8 percent, 1.8 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, in April, May and June," he said.

The producer prices for industrial products grew by 5.6 percent year-on-year, and the purchase price for raw materials, fuel and power rose by 9.9 percent, he said.

Source: Xinhua