Inflationary pressure picks up in May

时间：2007-06-12 01:30:17

（单词翻译:单击）

June 11 - Economists2 have raised their projections3 for last month's consumer price index (CPI) to more than 3 percent, reflecting rapid growth in food prices, led by pork and eggs.

 

Song Guoqing, a professor at Peking University, has predicted that the CPI would be 3.4 percent for the whole year and as much as 3.7 percent for May, exceeding the central bank's annual target of 3 percent.

 

Consumer prices rose 3 percent in April after climbing 3.3 percent in the previous month. The drop was deemed "only a temporary phenomenon" by Xing Weiwei, a macro-economic analyst4 with China Jianyin Investment Securities.

 

Zuo Xiaolei, chief economist1 of China Galaxy5 Securities Co Ltd, sounded a similar note.

 

"We will see the CPI surpass 3 percent in May, and interest rates will be raised again," she told China Daily.

 

Two days before she made these comments, central bank chief Zhou Xiaochun said the bank would be "paying close attention to the recent rises in pork and egg prices, which weigh heavily on China's inflation", before making any changes to interest rates.

 

Pork prices climbed 43 percent in the first three weeks of May compared with a year earlier, and egg prices surged 30 percent in April, according to government figures.

 

Food has long been a driving force behind China's CPI since it makes up a third of both consumer spending and the CPI basket, but economists worry that more and more food is being allocated6 to the production of biofuels.

 

Corn-based biofuels are attracting a lot of attention since China will stop exporting corn and actually start importing as much as 350,000 tons of it a year during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10).

 

However, the soaring food prices may not necessarily mean that China's economy is already inflationary.

 

"We depend more on core CPI than on CPI per se to judge whether an economy is inflationary," said Li Wenpu, a professor at Xiamen University.

 

Food prices tend to fluctuate heavily when there are shortages of supply or seasonal7 changes, so they are usually excluded from the core CPI together with energy prices because these two are not thought to reflect the true movements of prices, Li said.

 

Li Xiaochao, a spokesman from the National Statistics Bureau, said last month that core CPI rose by only 0.9 percent in the first quarter, while the CPI surged 2.7 percent.

 

"Actually, the CPI has grown at a relatively8 low level in the past four years, particularly when we consider the robust9 economic growth rate," Li told China Daily.

 

Though China's economy has grown at a brisk pace in the past four years, inflation has been kept in check.

 

Starting in 2003, China has experienced double-digit economic growth while the CPI has mostly stayed below 2 percent, with the exception of 2004, when the CPI was 3.9 percent.

 
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1 economist AuhzVs     
n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人
参考例句：
  • He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
  • He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。
2 economists 2ba0a36f92d9c37ef31cc751bca1a748     
n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
  • Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 projections 7275a1e8ba6325ecfc03ebb61a4b9192     
预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物
参考例句：
  • Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
  • The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。
4 analyst gw7zn     
n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家
参考例句：
  • What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
  • The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。
5 galaxy OhoxB     
n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)
参考例句：
  • The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
  • The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。
6 allocated 01868918c8cec5bc8773e98ae11a0f54     
adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
  • The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
  • More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。
7 seasonal LZ1xE     
adj.季节的，季节性的
参考例句：
  • The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
  • The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。
8 relatively bkqzS3     
adv.比较...地，相对地
参考例句：
  • The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
  • The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。
9 robust FXvx7     
adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的
参考例句：
  • She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
  • China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

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