The closely-watched consumer price index surged by 8.7 percent in February, the highest level in more than 11 years. That's more than the 7.1 percent CPI growth seen in January, and it was also up from economists' expectations of 8 percent.

The?closely-watched?consumer?price?index?surged?by?8.7?percent in?February,?the?highest?level?in?more?than?11?years.

The National Bureau of Statistics released the figures this morning.The bureau says food prices, which make up a third of the consumer basket, rose 23.3 percent last month. While non-food prices rose just 1.6 percent. The bureau said the hike in consumer prices was largely related to the snow storm that hit central, eastern and southern China. The Lunar New Year also had an impact on the increase.

Analysts believe inflationary pressure will remain for some time, and this may spark further tightening measures. Premier Wen Jiabao said in the Government Work Report that the major task of this year's macro-controls is to prevent the overall price level from rising rapidly.

(CCTV March 12, 2008)