The July price data released on Friday have reinforced the possibility that the economy is improving and the control target for consumer prices will be met this year.

The National Bureau of Statistics said that the consumer price index rose by an annual 2.7 percent last month. This was the same as in June, slightly lower than market expectations. The failure of the index to continue to rise on the back of the strong pick-up in June suggests that the rising momentum of prices could have eased.

In June, the index jumped sharply to 2.7 percent from 2.1 percent in May, arousing concerns that the rise in consumer prices could accelerate.