?

A worker welds at a construction site in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, Dec. 3, 2012. [Photo by Si Wei/Asianewsphoto]

BEIJING - Experts have predicted that China's inflation for November is expected to pick up on rising food prices following a two-month drop in the consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation.

Soon-to-be-released economic data for November is expected to show the CPI expanding at 2.1 percent year on year, driven by an increase in food prices, the Monday edition of the China Securities Journal quoted a report from the Industrial Bank as saying.

Lian Ping, chief economist at the Bank of Communication, echoed the prediction, saying rises in the prices of pork and vegetables contributed to the climbing CPI growth.

According to monitoring data from the Ministry of Commerce, prices for agricultural produce gained for a fourth consecutive week at the end of November, propped up by surging demand for meat and falling vegetable supplies caused by low temperatures.

Meanwhile, an increase in non-food prices is expected to fall back to 0.1 percent, the bank's report forecast.

Lian said October's reading marked a turning point, as the index in December may remain above 2 percent, bringing the year's CPI growth rate to 2.7 percent from 2011.

Affected by recovering domestic demand, increasing pork prices and rises in labor and land costs, prices will continue to increase in the next year, he added.

In October, the CPI increased 1.7 percent year on year, easing from a 1.9-percent rise in September amid government efforts to cap price growth, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

Key economic figures, including the CPI, are scheduled to be released by the NBS on December 9.