PBOC steers clear of rate rise

The People's Bank of China gave another hint that an interest rate rise was not on the cards in the near future, saying the Chinese economy was on course to attain the government's macromanagement targets outlined for 2004. "Generally speaking, the monetary policy actions taken so far have had their effect, and the current monetary and credit performance is in line with targets of steady monetary and credit growth," the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee said in a statement. Speculation about an interest rate rise has been running high in recent months, with growing concern about China's negative real interest rates. With the one-year deposit rate at only 1.98% and inflation running at over 5%, interest rates are effectively negative.