The National Bureau of Statistics released key economic data for the month of July yesterday. Once again, it's inflation that's hit the headlines, with the Consumer Price Index up 6.5 percent year on year.

A customer checks the price of vegetables at a supermarket in Qionghai, Hainan Province Tuesday. China's consumer prices in July reached 6.5 percent, the highest level in three years.

A new three-year-high: The National Bureau of Statistics says China's CPI in July increased by 6.5 percent year-on-year. It gained 0.5 percent compared to the previous month, after a 0.3 percent month-on-month rise in June.

Giving a more detailed breakdown of the CPI, food prices rose 14.8 percent, while non-food prices increased by 2.9 percent. In the meantime, the Producer Price Index, a gauge of wholesale inflation, slowed slightly. The PPI rose 7.5 percent in the month.

Since last October, China raised interest rates five times and cash reserve requirements for banks nine times to combat quickening inflation, which hit a three-year high of 6.4 percent in June.

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