NDRC: CPI to mark new high in June

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China's consumer price index rose to a 34-month high of 5.5 percent in May.

China's consumer inflation in June is expected to exceed the 34-month high of 5.5 percent in May, but full-year inflation is "within a controllable range", said the country's top economic planner on Wednesday.

"We expect June's consumer price index (CPI) to rise faster than May," said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), attributing the increase to the lagging effects of price hikes in the latter half of last year.

According to the NDRC, China's CPI, a main gauge of inflation, surged 5.2 percent in the first five months of this year, and "may stay at a relatively high level in some individual months in the future".

However, the top planning agency said that inflation will moderate during the second half of this year because the current adverse weather conditions would only have a limited impact on consumer prices. Recent floods and droughts along the Yangtze River may trigger more price rises in agricultural products, but they are unlikely to be sharp increases as harvests in northern China will offset some of the losses, said the NDRC.

Plus, China's prices rose sharply in the second half of last year, therefore comparisons with a higher base data will also contribute to showing a lower inflation rate.

The NDRC said government efforts to curb inflation were effective since this round of inflation was international, and China's consumer prices were lower than in most emerging markets.

The NDRC did not mention whether there will be further government measures to curb inflation. The market has been expecting another rate rise in the next few months.

There have already been market expectations that June's CPI may top 6 percent. A Guotai Jun'an report sees China's CPI to reach 6.2 percent in June. Galaxy Securities, Nomura Securities and Deutsche Bank also predicted June's inflation rate to reach 6 percent.

CPI figures of the past five months have all broke the 4 percent control target set by the Chinese government.