The nation's consumer price index -- a closely watched inflation barometer -- rose for an eighth consecutive month in August, lifted by higher oil and food prices, the government said yesterday.
The index rose 2.53 percent year on year in August, down from its 3.32 percent increase in July, the government said. The July figure was the biggest rise in the index since the 3.9 percent jump in November 1998. The index measures changes in retail prices of a constant market basket of goods and services.
The wholesale price index, which gauges production costs, rose 10.34 percent in August, up from a revised increase of 9.43 percent in July. It was the highest rise since April 1981.
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