Prices forecast to keep increasing, but rate to slow

Prices of consumer goods will continue to rise but at a slower rate, a top official said yesterday.

"The growth momentum of overall prices will gradually ease," Zhu Xiaoliang, deputy head of the Ministry of Commerce's department of market operation regulation, said during an interview broadcast live online.

He vowed the ministry will ensure adequate supplies of major food products such as meat and vegetables, to stabilize prices during the upcoming Spring Festival holidays.