China's inflation to continue falling in Feb.: official

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's inflation rate in February was likely to be lower than that of January, an official with the country's top economic planner said Tuesday.

Li Pumin, a spokesman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said during an online interview that the country's anti-inflation measures had showed preliminary effects and the consumer price index (CPI) would further drop in February.

China's CPI rose 4.9 percent year on year in January, higher than the 4.6 percent in December but lower than a 28-month high of 5.1 percent in November.

The country is scheduled to release the February CPI figure on March 11, together with other economic data such as industrial production, fixed assets investment and retail sales.

The government's aim to hold this year's inflation at around 4 percent has left room for domestic pricing mechanism reform, Li said.

The target has also taken into account factors driving up prices, such as the carry-over effects from last year, rising costs, imported inflation pressures and the large volume of outstanding money supply, he said.

He reiterated a comment made by Premier Wen Jiabao that China has an oversupply in major industrial products and ample grain reserves after seven straight years of good harvests, which gives the government room to fight inflation.

The government has vowed to ensure this year's grain output exceeds 1 trillion jin (500 million tonnes), which would mean a good harvest for the eighth consecutive year, Li said.

source:Xinhua