China confident of hitting 3 percent consumer inflation target in 2016: planner

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is confident of reaching its official consumer inflation target of around 3 percent this year, the country's top economic planner said on Tuesday. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in an online statement that the average growth of consumer inflation in the second half of 2016 will ease from the first six months. It added that declines in the producer price index (PPI) will also ease in the second half of this year. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.8 percent in July from a year earlier, compared with a 1.9 percent increase in June, and matching this year's low hit in January. The producer price index (PPI) fell 1.7 percent in July from a year ago, smaller than June's 2.6 percent decline. (Reporting By Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Kim Coghill)