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Consumer price hikes 'to accelerate'

China's consumer inflation is expected to pick up in April due to rising non-food prices and a low base for the same period a year ago, according to a report from the Bank of Communications. The bank forecast that the official consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, will have grown 1.1 percent year-on-year for the month, slightly faster than March's 0.9-percent growth and the 0.8-percent increase in February. Price hikes in refined oil products have become a significant support for non-food prices, which likely rose 2.4 percent from a year ago, and a stronger carry-over effect also helped push up the CPI.