China May home prices rise 6 pct y/y-Reuters calculation

BEIJING, June 18 (Reuters) - Average new home prices in China's 70 major cities in May rose 6 percent from a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations based on official data published on Tuesday, marking the fifth straight month of year-on-year increase.

In month-on-month terms, prices rose 0.9 percent in May, easing from April's gain of 1 percent, it said.

China's home prices have been on an upswing since around the middle of last year, and the rise has reignited concerns about property inflation. Beijing launched a fresh round of measures in March to try to cool prices but at a time when other engines of the economy are showing signs of slowing.

The National Bureau of Statistics said new home prices in Beijing rose 11.8 percent in May from a year earlier, compared with April's year-on-year increase of 10.3 percent. Shanghai's prices were up 10.2 percent in May from a year ago, versus 8.5 percent annual growth in April.

Reuters started its weighted China home price index in January 2011 when the NBS stopped providing nationwide data, only giving home price changes in each of 70 major cities.