BEIJING — China's inflation will drop mildly in November and remain tame until the end of the year due to stable food prices and a weakening carry-over effect, the Bank of Communications said in a report.

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of consumer inflation, is expected to edge down to 1.8 percent year-on-year in November from the 1.9-percent growth recorded in October, according to the report.

The CPI retreat is mainly due to stable food prices, the bank's chief economist Lian Ping said, adding that vegetable prices will moderate and meat prices will go up marginally.

Meanwhile, non-food prices rose due to more expensive refined oil products.

Lian said inflation will not see substantial changes throughout the year end and the CPI is expected to stand at around 2 percent in 2018, ruling out the possibility of price hikes.

The CPI climbed 1.5 percent year-on-year for January-October period, below the government's annual inflation regulation target of around 3 percent for 2017.