Domestic consumption facilitates CPI growth

China's year-on-year July consumer inflation registered higher-than-expected growth compared with the previous month's, while factory gate price inflation cooled slightly amid moderate downward pressure and trade friction with the United States.

China's consumer price index, a major barometer of inflation, rose 2.1 percent year-on-year in July, exceeding expectations of 1.9 percent but staying well within the government's preset annual target of "around 3 percent", according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday.

Analysts pointed out that robust domestic consumption activity and summer travel season demand resulted in the monthly CPI figure, as consumption strength backed price increases in transportation, tourism and other service-related sectors.