China Central Bank says inflation controllable

BEIJING: China's consumer inflation is controllable as measures enforced to temper price pressures are taking effect, a senior central bank official was reported as saying on Friday.

Li Dongrong, an assistant governor at the People's Bank of China, was also quoted by the China Securities Journal as saying inflation should remain under control as the base effect fades.

Low year-earlier comparison figures used to calculate annual inflation have amplified the recent run-up in China's consumer price index, alongside rising pork and property prices.

Li's remarks are in line with Beijing's official rhetoric that inflation is under control in the world's No.2 economy, even if it does not ease dramatically in months ahead.

Annual inflation ran at a three-year high of 6.5 percent in July, leading Beijing to vow that its fight against inflation remained a policy priority, even as the world economy falters.

Worried that rising prices could stir social unrest, Beijing has raised interest rates five times and bank reserve requirements nine times since October.

Copyright Reuters, 2011