China's monthly trade surplus hit $16.68 bln in April

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China's trade surplus stood at 16.68 billion U.S. dollars in April, the General Administration of Customs said on Monday.

The figure was down about 1 percent from the same month last year, but up from 13.4 billion U.S. dollars in March, and 8.6 billion U.S. dollars in February.

Exports in April rose 21.8 percent year on year to 118.71 billion U.S. dollars, while imports were up 26.3 percent to 102.03billion U.S. dollars.

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price index (CPI),the main gauge of inflation, rose 8.5 percent year on year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

The figure, compared with 8.3 percent in March and a nearly 12-year-high of 8.7 percent in February, was broadly in line with most forecasts. Full story

BEIJING, May 11 -- China's monetary authorities are struggling to address conflicting policy goals, but inflation will remain the top policy concern, the country's central bank governor said on Saturday.

While the United States and other countries are more focused on fending off a recession, China's monetary policy must target inflation over growth and employment, Zhou Xiaochuan, the People's Bank of China governor, told a forum in Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial center. Full story

BEIJING, May 11 -- China needs to cut its high savings rate to boost consumption and reduce the trade surplus, People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Saturday.

"The government has pledged to boost consumption and cut the surpluses in trade and capital accounts," Zhou said at the Lujiazui Forum 2008 in Shanghai. That "requires that we reduce the current high savings ratio," he said. Full story

BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Amid a major wave of international grain price hikes, China has managed to maintain stable domestic prices.

Wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade surged more than 140 percent in March, and rice prices went up over 80 percent.Full story

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The producer price index (PPI) for China's industrial products rose 8.1 percent in April over the same month last year, putting on more pressure on the nation's inflation rate, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

The factory-gate prices of raw materials, fuel and power were up 11.8 percent. Full story

BEIJING, May 7 -- Inflation could dip to 7.5 percent in the second quarter from 8 percent in the first, but inflationary pressures will stay strong because of surging grain prices and robust investment, said a top government think tank.

"Seasonal changes and government measures to boost agricultural supplies may cause consumer prices to slide in the second quarter," the State Information Center said in a report. "But inflationary pressure is still mounting because of domestic and international factors."