Inflation rate likely to fall

August consumer inflation may drop to a 14-month low on falling food prices, but inflationary pressure in the non-food sector will remain strong, economists said.

"We expect CPI to fall to 5.2 percent year-on-year in August from 6.3 percent in July - the lowest reading in 14 months," said Sun Mingchun, an economist with Lehman Brothers, attributing the decline to lower food prices.

China's CPI has eased since May, after peaking at 8.5 percent in April. This is largely due to the slide in food prices, which account for one-third of the CPI basket.