The 5.5 percent rise in the consumer price index reported Tuesday was in line with expectations but higher than April's 5.3 percent and March's 32-month high of 5.4 percent. The National Statistics Bureau said the main factor was an 11.7 percent jump in food prices.

While food costs are likely to moderate as supplies improve over the summer months, China is juggling conflicting goals. By constraining bank lending in an effort to keep prices under control, it is pinching credit to the smaller, private businesses that drive most job creation and much of the country's growth.

Surging prices for food and other basic necessities have added to the frustrations over inequality, abuse of power and suppression of legitimate grievances that drove recent turbulence.

Drought and other weather disasters have decimated crops in wide parts of the country, as rising consumer demand pushes prices higher. Strong demand in construction and other industries has added to those pressures, spurred by a bank lending spree meant to fight off the impact of the 2008 global crisis.

AP