BEIJING -- An economist has warned that China did not raise its interest rates enough to curb inflation, the China Daily reported.
Tang Min, chief economist with the resident mission of the Asian Development Bank in China, said the rate hike by China's Central Bank was not sufficient to curb the threat of inflation, the China Daily said citing a Saturday report from the Xinhua news agency.
The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, announced Thursday that it would raise both lending and deposit interest rates 0.27 percentage points, effective Friday. China's consumer price index hit 5.2 percent in September, and for the first three quarters of this year, the figure stood at 4.1 percent.
"The market should get ready for possible more interest rate hikes in the future," said Tang. If the inflationary pressure persisted or increased, the central bank might continue to raise the rates, he said.
Tang said the impact of the interest rate hike on the country's economy will be very limited, because it is a very small step made by the central bank. It will influence people's expectation about future in making decision on investment and consumption.
