The consumer price in China is expected to rise one percent this year, according to a latest report by experts from Peking University and National Bureau of Statistics.

The pressure of inflation will be lower than that of deflation, and the growth rate of consumer price will decrease this year. The producer price of industrial products will increase some 2.5 percent and prices of raw materials, fuels and power will grow about 4.5 percent, the report said.

Experts attributed the reduced rise of prices to stable grain prices, oversupply in some industries, and lower consumption demand. Judging from the current situation, deflation has not happened, and will not happen in the near future, as China is in the mid stage of industrialization, when fast economic growth will continue for a period of time. As population increases, price of grain will rise amid fluctuations, cost of energy and labor will grow too, they said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2006)