Zhou Xiaochuan: Growth of CPI in Line with Anticipation

Governor of the People s Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan stated while having an interview with the reporter from China Securities Journal at the Great Hall of the People on March 11 that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in February rose 2.7% year-on-year, next to the previous anticipation of the central bank. Su Ning, vice governor of the Bank claimed on the same day that China has not suffered the pressure of inflation yet, stating that the year-on-year increase of CPI lies in the Spring Festival, which fell on February while January last year.

The data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics on March 11 indicated that the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 5.4% year-on-year. Analysts said the driving power mainly resulted from nonferrous metals and fuel and power.

Also based on the data released by the central bank on March 11, the newly-increased RMB loans in February came up to RMB700.1b, drastically drop to be nearly half of the previous month.