The People’s Bank of China yesterday boosted its benchmark one-year lending rate by a quarter point to 6.31 percent, making its announcement at the end of a three-day holiday. The timing came as a surprise to banks from Credit Suisse AG to Bank of America-Merrill Lynch that had said the central bank may pause in increases amid rising risks to global growth.
Premier Wen Jiabao’s government acted ahead of a report forecast to show consumer prices climbed 5.2 percent last month from a year before, the fastest pace since 2008. Inflation may drop “sharply” in the second half of the year on moderating economic growth, smaller increases in food costs and favorable year-earlier bases for comparison, economist Mark Williams said.作者: not4weak 时间: 2011-4-5 22:21