China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.7 percent year-on-year in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

The reading, in line with market expectations, accelerated from the 2.5-percent expansion in April.

Food prices climbed 7.7 percent year-on-year last month, up from 6.1 percent in April, according to the NBS.

Non-food prices gained 1.6 percent, 0.1 percentage points lower than that in April.

The CPI in urban areas rose 2.7 percent year-on-year, while that in rural areas went up 2.8 percent compared with a year ago, the NBS noted.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices remained flat last month, compared with the 0.1-percent increase seen in April.