The People's Bank of China (PBC) is concerned about inflationary
pressure and is ready to make use of a range of monetary policy
tools to curb prices rises, a senior official said yesterday.
"The central bank is firm on keeping inflation under control,"
Yi Gang, assistant governor of the PBC, told reporters at a fiscal
forum in Beijing.
"We have many tools at hand," Yi added.
China has seen its consumer price index (CPI) exceed the
benchmark line of 3 percent set by the central bank - in May, it
hit a two-year high of 3.4 percent, after reaching 3 percent in
April.
People have been expecting the central bank to raise interest
rates or take other tightening measures to rein in rising
prices.
The central bank will make proper use of the tools to control
inflation and keep price levels and economic growth stable, Yi
said.
He added that increased asset prices would not be a factor in
taking tightening measures.
"We are mainly concerned with inflation, which mainly means CPI
in China," he said.
In the long run, the central bank aims to keep real interest
rates positive, Yi said.
(China Daily June 28, 2007)