Public satisfaction with China's consumer prices fell to a
record low in the fourth quarter, with only 10.8 percent of urban
people expressing satisfaction, according to a survey by the
People's Bank of China.
Sixty percent of urban residents felt prices remained high in
the fourth quarter, 0.5 of a percentage point up from the previous
quarter.
Most entrepreneurs, bankers and urban residents were pessimistic
about prices in the first quarter of 2007, believing inflation
pressures were "accumulating", according to the survey.
But the percentage of those who considered the price level
"unacceptably high" dropped slightly for the first time this year,
due to salary increases for civil servants and seasonal pay rises
for urban residents.
The percentage data for these figures was unavailable in the
central bank's report.
China's consumer price index (CPI), the country's main measure
of inflation, will rise two percent in 2007, compared with this
year's predicted 1.4 percent, according to a central bank
forecast.
The index is expected to climb from 1.8 percent in the fourth
quarter this year to 2.2 percent in the second quarter next year.
Then it will fall to 1.8 percent again at the end of 2007.
The survey also showed the sale price index rose 1.1 percentage
points to reach a 10-year high in the fourth quarter, confirming
beliefs that prices are high.
Meanwhile, purchase prices of production materials dropped three
quarters in a row, continuing to enable enterprises to reduce
production costs and expand profits.
Fifty-four percent of the bankers surveyed and 86.8 percent of
entrepreneurs said China's economy performed "normally" in the
fourth quarter, compared with 25.1 percent and 83.8 percent
respectively in the third quarter.
(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2006)