China's consumer prices rose slightly less than expected in August, easing pressure on the government that strives to cool down its sizzling economy, The Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices rose 1.3 percent in August from a year earlier, the government said. The increase was higher than the 1 percent rise recorded in July but slightly less than the average 1.37 percent forecast of 11 economists, said the paper. Inflation risks "are relatively well-contained," said Ben Simpfendorfer, China strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong, who added that the bigger challenges are "growth risks and liquidity risks." Economists attribute the lack of consumer-price inflation to the rapid expansion of industrial capacity, which boosts supply and crunches profit margins for manufacturers.