AFP, Beijing, April 5: China's central bank said Tuesday it would raise one-year deposit and lending rates by 25 basis points in its latest effort to curb rampant lending and bring inflation under control.
The People's Bank of China said the interest rate hikes—the fourth since late last year—would take effect Wednesday.
The latest move takes the one-year deposit and lending rates to 3.25 per cent and 6.31 per cent respectively.
Authorities have been pulling on a variety of policy levers to rein in consumer prices and housing costs but inflation remains stubbornly high.
The country's consumer price index rose 4.9 per cent in February, well above the government's full-year target of four per cent, despite persistent efforts to reduce household costs and ease growing consumer anxiety.
Premier Wen Jiabao told the country's legislature last month that reining in prices was the government's 'top priority' in 2011, as China strives for a more balanced eight per cent growth rate.