Consumer prices in China rise while production costs sink into deflation.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6% last month compared to the previous year, up from 0.5% in July but below the 0.7% forecast of analysts.

China’s consumer inflation accelerated in August at its fastest pace in six months, but the rise was driven more by higher food prices due to weather disruptions than by a recovery in domestic demand, as producer price deflation worsened.

The weak start to the second half of the year is putting pressure on the world’s second-largest economy to implement additional policies amid a prolonged real estate downturn, persistent unemployment, debt issues, and escalating trade tensions.

The CPI rose 0.6% year-over-year last month, compared to 0.5% in July, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics published on Monday, though it was lower than the 0.7% predicted in a Reuters poll of economists.

Extreme weather conditions this summer, from deadly floods to scorching heat, have driven up agricultural prices, contributing to rising inflation.

Chinese crops affected by various natural disasters totaled 1.46 million hectares in August, state media reported on Monday.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, was 0.3% in August, the lowest in nearly three and a half years, down from 0.4% in July.

In unusually direct remarks, former central bank governor Yi Gang urged action to combat deflationary pressure at the Bund Summit in Shanghai last week.

A national campaign to allocate $41 billion in long-term Treasury bonds to support equipment upgrades and consumer goods exchanges has shown little success in boosting consumer confidence, and domestic car sales extended their declines for the fourth consecutive month in July.