Source: CCTV.com

04-05-2008 12:03

China's Industrial and Commercial Bank is forecasting an eight percent increase in the country's first quarter CPI this year.

China's Industrial and Commercial Bank is forecasting an eight percent increase in the country's first  quarter CPI this year. (CCTV.com)

The bank says the consumer price index will grow 8.2 percent in March, down slightly from the previous month, as the country recovers from severe snow storms earlier this year.

China's CPI rose 8.7 percent year on year in February, the highest since May 1996.

ICBC also projects growth will slow in the second half of the year, due to concerns over the global economic slowdown and a likely rebound in the US dollars. Official government figures will come out in mid-April.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei