British Standard Chartered Bank predicted in its report released Friday that China will likely raise interest rates again within the month and there will be at least two more increases in the first half of this year.

On Feb. 8, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, announced its first interest rate increase in 2011.

The consumer price index (CPI), a key inflation indicator, rose 4.9 percent in February year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, keeping pace with CPI growth in January.

Inflation, considered as the biggest enemy of China's economy, is expected to climb to 6 percent before midyear. Rising prices of commodities, raw materials and food prices have posed a great challenge to China’s efforts to combat inflation.

The British bank also forecast that China's central bank will raise reserve requirements for lenders to tighten excess liquidity.

China's business press carried the story above on Monday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.