China's consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, was expected to show a rise of about 5 percent in August from a year earlier, said analysts on Thursday.

"The August food price figure proved our estimation. The CPI rise will slow to about five percent in August," said Jiang Chao, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities.

Jiang said the August CPI would probably be the lowest so far in 2008, approaching the 4.8-percent full-year target set by the central bank at the beginning of this year.

Sun Mingchun, economist at Lehman Brothers, said the government would probably ease price controls in September.

Lehman Brothers said in a report on Tuesday that China's CPI rise would drop to a 14-month low of 5.2 percent in August.

Fan Jianping, chief economist of the State Information Center, said the CPI growth rate might sink below 6 percent in August.

China's CPI was up 6.3 percent in July. The figure, compared with 7.1 percent in June and 7.7 percent in May, was broadly in line with forecasts.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2008)