BEIJING - CHINA'S consumer price index rose 7.9 per cent in the first half of 2008, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

The index, which is the main gauge of inflation and a key factor in determining the temperature of the world's fourth largest economy, was up 7.1 per cent for June alone, the bureau said in a statement.

The soaring cost of food was a major contributor to inflation, with food prices up 20.4 per cent in the first half of the year, according to the bureau. -- AFP