China's consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation, was up 8.3 percent in March of this year, as against the 8.7 percent level for the previous month.

Li Xiaochao, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics of China said Wednesday the country's CPI for the first quarter of this year was eight percent.

In the January-March period, the inflation indicator rose 7.8 percent for urban areas, and up 8.7 percent for rural areas.

In breakdowns, food prices soared 21.0 percent, driving CPI up by 6.8 percentage points. Housing prices and rents went up 6.6 percent on average, dring the inflation gauge by one percentage point.

The first quarter also saw retail prices up 7.4 percent, 5.3 percentage points higher than the year-earlier level, and producer price index, or PPI, up 6.9 percent, 4.0 percentage points higher.

Prices of raw materials, fuels and power supply increased 9.8 percent in the first three months of this year, 5.7 percentage points higher than the level for the same period of last year. Meanwhile, housing prices in 70 major cities rose 11.0 percent on average, 5.4 percentage points higher.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2008)