A customer buys vegetables at a supermarket in Linquan county, East China's Anhui province, May 11, 2022. (LU QIJIAN / XINHUA)

BEIJING - China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.5 percent year-on-year in June, the National Bureau of Statistics  said Saturday.

Food prices went down 1.6 percent month-on-month, expanding from the 1.3-percent decline logged in May, which lowered the monthly consumer inflation by about 0.3 percentage points, according to the NBS

On a monthly basis, June's CPI reversed the 0.2-percent decline in May to remain flat due to effective COVID-19 control and a sufficient supply of consumer goods, noted Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician with the NBS.

Food prices went down 1.6 percent month-on-month, expanding from the 1.3-percent decline logged in May, which lowered the monthly consumer inflation by about 0.3 percentage points, according to the data.

ALSO READ: China's inflation remains stable despite headwinds

Specifically, the price of pork, a staple meat in China, increased by 2.9 percent in June over the previous month. Dong attributed the growth to some farmers' activities such as hoarding and reluctance to sell, as well as consumer demand increase amid waning epidemic.

Non-food prices rose 2.5 percent from a year earlier, compared to the 2.1-percent rise in May, lifting the yearly consumer inflation by about 2.01 percentage points.

The prices of gasoline and diesel continued the upward trend with year-on-year growth of 33.4 percent and 36.3 percent, respectively, while airfare surged by 28.1 percent from a year ago.

ALSO READ: Experts see mild 2022 inflation

Staff members make 5G products at a factory in Ganzhou, East China's Jiangxi province on May 31, 2022. (PHOTO / /IC)

Meanwhile, the factory-gate inflation eased for the sixth straight month in June as the country's efforts to promote production resumption and stabilize supply and prices have gradually paid off.

China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went up 6.1 percent year-on-year in June, narrowing by 0.3 percentage points from a month earlier, the NBS said.

NBS' Dong attributed the PPI ease to continued efforts to accelerate production resumption and unclog industrial and supply chains, as well as effective policies to ensure stable prices and supplies.

China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went up 6.1 percent year-on-year in June, narrowing by 0.3 percentage points from a month earlier, the NBS said

On a monthly basis, China's PPI remained flat last month compared with the 0.1-percent rise in May.

Among 40 industrial sectors surveyed, 37 saw price growth in June, the same as that in May, NBS data showed.

The petroleum and natural gas extraction sector saw its PPI climb 54.4 percent year-on-year last month, expanding by 6.6 percentage points from May.

The PPI of the agricultural and sideline food processing sector went up 5.6 percent year-on-year in June, compared with the 3.7-percent increase logged in the previous month.

The coal mining and washing industry saw the PPI soar by 31.4 percent year-on-year, narrowing by 5.8 percentage points from that in May.

READ MORE: China's producer inflation eases to 14-month low in May

The carry-over effect of last year's price movements contributed about 3.8 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI growth in June, according to the NBS.