A customer buying pork at a supermarket in Beijing. Pork prices may plunge after spring next year if farmers boost pig inventories excessively because profits are currently high, the National Development and Reform Commission said. [China Daily]

3) NDRC: Inflation nears peak

Inflation in China is nearing a turning point, an official at China's top economy policymaking body said Friday. The outlook for commodity prices in the second half of the year looks rosy as slower rises in import prices, tighter monetary policy and other factors begin to take effect, said Zhou Wangjun, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission's pricing department. "Based on the lifecycle of price fluctuations, this round of price rises should be near a turning point...and we're cautiously optimistic about the second half," Zhou said Friday in a statement on the central government's website. The government has fought a losing battle against stubborn inflation in the first half of the year. Growth in the consumer price index accelerated from 4.9 percent in January to 6.4 percent in June, a three-year high. Zhou said that inflation comes in concert with economic growth, and that the key is to hold price increases at acceptable levels. “If the economy grew 10 percent, 3 to 5 percent inflation is reasonable,” he said. Beijing is targeting 4 percent growth in consumer prices for the year.