http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/92ACBA53-B6FB-457E-95A9-70E549B50F8E..htm
China's inflation rate hits upsurge
Consumer prices in China rebounded in April to near decade-high levels,
increasing pressure on the government to do more to wind in soaring inflation
levels.
According to statistics released on Monday, annual inflation quickened to 8.5
per cent from 8.3 per cent in March.
The government has been trying to cool price rises for staples such as pork,
grain and other items by increasing supplies while imposing controls on basic
goods.
China's leaders are determined to avoid a replay of the late 1980s when
spiralling inflation fuelled widespread public discontent and protests.
Soaring food prices are especially worrisome to Beijing because they hit
China's poor majority hardest.
"Greater prominence needs to be given to curbing inflation and controlling
price rises," China's national bureau of statistics said on Monday in a
statement accompanying the inflation data.
Food prices, which make up a third of the consumer price basket used to
calculate China's inflation levels, have been the overwhelming driver of
inflation.
They rose 22.1 per cent in April from a year earlier, though weekly government
reports on fresh food prices showed a slight dip in May.
Non-food prices rose 1.8 per cent in April from a year earlier, the same as in
March.
Zhou Xiaochuan, China's central bank governor, said on Saturday that the
country would give precedence to tackling inflation over targeting growth or
employment.
The government declared it would tighten monetary policy this year to fight
inflation, but it has yet to raise interest rates after six increases in 2007.
Meanwhile, the government also reported on Monday that China's trade surplus
fell about 1 per cent in April from the same time last year to $16.8bn amid
weaker global demand for Chinese goods.
The trade surplus with Europe jumped by 34.8 per cent to $12bn while that with
the US saw much slower growth, rising by 4 per cent to $13bn, according to the
Chinese customs agency.
The growing Chinese trade gap with the 27-nation European Union has prompted
the EU to join Washington in lobbying Beijing to ease currency controls and
import barriers.
The surge in exports to Europe is due in part to the rise in the euro against
China's currency, the yuan, which makes Chinese goods more attractive to
European consumers.
The dollar, by contrast, has fallen against the yuan, making Chinese goods more
expensive for Americans.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
