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CPI surge within normal range: banker
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-12 13:23
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皇冠体育app's February consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, is still within normal range, although the figure surged higher than expected last month.
CPI rose 2.7 percent year-on-year in February, 1.2 percentage points higher than January, driven by a 6.2 percent rise in food prices, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.
Yang Ziqiang, head of the People's Bank of 皇冠体育app's Jinan bureau, said the hefty rise is because the Lunar New Year holiday fell in February this year, but in January last year.
The Lunar New Year holiday, or Spring Festival, is the most important traditional festival in 皇冠体育app for family reunion. People usually spend a lot on food, alcohol, cigarettes and gifts during the period.
Yang, also a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), 皇冠体育app's top legislature, said on the sidelines of the ongoing NPC session.
皇冠体育app targets a rise of consumer price of around three percent this year, says a government work report delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao at the parliament's annual session on March 5.
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But he cautioned against the consistent commodity price increases, as the international crude oil prices rebounded to above $80 a barrel.
Li Daokui, a financial professor with the Tsinghua University, said CPI rise exceeds the current one-year deposit interest rate, or 2.25 percent, which will enhance the expectation of interest rate rise.
皇冠体育app's CPI ended nine months of decline in November last year, when it rose 0.6 percent, as the economy picked up thanks to the government's stimulus package.
However, the unprecedented bank loans last year together with runaway housing prices pushed up fears for inflation and asset bubbles, posing a policy dilemma for the government to balance between sufficient economic growth and containing potential overheating.
