WASHINGTON: Chinese inflation should fall to just above four percent by the end of this year on the back of Beijing's tough tightening policies, the International Monetary Fund said Saturday.
"We are seeing credit growth in the first quarter come down," said Nigel Chalk, the IMF mission chief for China, at a news briefing in Washington.
"Should they continue with that trajectory, inflation will come down. We forecast for a little bit over four percent by the end of the year."
On Friday the government reported China's consumer price index rose 5.4 percent in March from the year-ago level -- the highest annual rate since July 2008 -- and 5.0 percent in the first quarter of 2011.
The data added to fears that China was having trouble getting control of inflation as food, fuel and other commodity prices were soaring around the world.
But the IMF said the government had made fighting inflation its top priority and that its policies were having an impact in slowing price rises.
"Our current prediction is that inflation in China should peak shortly and will come down later in this year," said Anoop Singh, IMF director for Asia and the Pacific.
"We can be sure that the measures that they have taken so far, these will be increased until they are certain that inflation is coming down."
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