BEIJING - China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 1.6 percent in September from last year, down from 2 percent in August, official data showed on Wednesday.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices in September rose 0.1 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In the first nine months, CPI expanded 1.4 percent year on year.

Cities outpaced rural areas in inflation, with urban inflation up 1.6 percent and rural inflation up 1.5 percent in September. Food prices climbed the most by 2.7 percent, followed by service prices which rose 2.1 percent.

Producer price index, which measures wholesale inflation, slid 5.9 percent year on year in September, according to the NBS.

The government aims to keep consumer inflation at around 3 percent for 2015.??