PCoB governor sends inflation warning

China’s central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan announced an official shift toward tighter monetary policy Wednesday at a news conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress, the South China Morning Post reported. Zhou’s announcement comes amid concerns over a 3.2% rise in inflation in China last month. “Inflation merits high vigilance. We plan to stabilize consumer prices and inflation expectations through monetary policy and other tools,” Zhou said at the conference, characterizing the bank’s monetary policy this year as “relatively neural.” Zhou also indicated that the government’s recent cooling measures toward the property market, related to down payments and mortgage rates, would continue and may be strengthened.