China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.8 percent year on year in July, up from 2.7 percent in June. Producer price index (PPI) dropped 0.3 percent year on year in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.

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Food prices grew 9.1 percent year on year last month, up from 8.3 percent in June, while non-food prices gained 1.3 percent, 0.1 percentage points lower than that of June.

The CPI in urban and rural areas, respectively, registered a 2.7-percent growth a 2.9-percent growth year on year.

In the first seven months, consumer prices rose 2.3 percent from a year earlier on average, the bureau said. On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased 0.4 percent last month. 

On year-on-year basis, prices of other supplies and services, healthcare, education and entertainment rose 3.4 percent, 2.6 percent and 2.3 percent respectively, while clothing, housing, household goods and services rose 1.8 percent, 1.5 percent and 0.8 percent respectively. Prices of transport and communication dropped 2.1 percent.

NBS data also showed the PPI, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, dropped 0.3 percent year-on-year in July.

In July, factory prices of production materials dropped 0.7 percent. Consumer goods prices remained flat. 

Among major industries, oil and coal processing and oil and natural gas extraction industries saw a fall, respectively, of 2.4 percent and 5.4 percent in prices last month, according to the bureau.