BEIJING - China's consumer price index (CPI) is estimated to grow by about 3 percent in September from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Communications.

The official CPI in September, a main gauge of inflation, is due to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Oct 14.

A rebound in vegetable and pork prices may boost the September CPI, as food prices account for nearly one-third of the prices used, said Tang Jianwei, the bank's senior economist.

The prices of farm produce in 36 major cities continued to climb last week (Oct 1-7), with the price of pork and the wholesale prices of 18 kinds of vegetables gaining 0.3 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

China's CPI rose 2.6 percent year on year in August, down from 2.7 percent in July. The figure remains well below the government's full-year target of 3.5 percent.