国内英语新闻:China May economic data complicate future policymaking

China's inflation has stood above 2.25 percent, the one-year deposit interest rate set by the government, for four consecutive months, which ignited growing expectations of interests rate hikes.

NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun said the higher inflation was because of a low comparison basis from the same period last year and was pushed up by food prices hikes.

However, he said the inflationary pressure was easing and China had the basics for keeping prices under control this year.

Declining commodities prices amid the European sovereign debt crisis would reduce the inflationary pressures, he said.

"Although China faces quite a lot of pressure, the 3-percent target is still possible," he said.

Lu Ting, China economist of the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, said in an e-mailed note that China's rising inflation could be interpreted negatively by markets, and would be a risk for a few more months.

"We don't expect a knee-jerk reaction from policymakers: interest rates won't be hiked until the fourth quarter this year," he said.

Xiong Peng, researcher at the Shanghai-based Bank of Communications, China's fifth largest lender, said that China's CPI was expected to peak in June or July, and average at 3 to 4 percent for the whole year.

The government was likely to postpone raising interest rates to the third quarter, he added.

The People's Bank of China, or the central bank, said new yuan-dominated loans in May fell to 639.4 billion yuan (93.6 billion U.S. dollars) from 774 billion yuan in April.