BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price index (CPI),the main gauge of inflation, in May was 7.7 percent up from May last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.

    The figure, compared with 8.5 percent in April and a 12-year-high of 8.7 percent in February, was broadly in line with most forecasts, but still in excess of the government's annual target of 4.8 percent.

    The May CPI rose 7.3 percent in urban areas, and 8.5 percent in rural areas, according to the statistics.

    The price of meat increased 37.8 percent, with that of pork surging 48 percent. Cooking oil price went up 41.4 percent, with vegetables up 10.3 percent, aquatic products up 18.3 percent and grains up 8.6 percent.

    "The CPI growth rate has been declining, and the trend is expected to continue in the next few months," said Zhang Liqun, a macro-economist with the Development Research Center of the State Council, China's Cabinet.

    "China still faced high inflationary pressure, but this will improve, as food prices -- the main driven factor of high inflation -- started to decline," said Zhang.

    Food prices, which account for more than a third of the CPI calculation, soared 19.9 percent in May, 2.2 percentage points lower than the growth in April.

    Yin Jianfeng, an economist with the Institute of Finance and Banking at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said soaring grain and oil prices on the international market greatly contributed to China's inflation.

    "Food prices on the world market are the highest in 30 years. Surging crude oil prices and a weakening U.S. economy also brought pressure to domestic market," said Yin.

    "But the high prices are not expected to last long. They may face a turning point and start to decline," said Yin. "China's economy will in turn to improve, and the inflation may certainly ease."

    In the first five months, the inflation indicator rose 8.1 percent over the same period last year, 7.7 percent up for urban areas and 8.8 percent up for the countryside.