CPI to be below 5% in December: NDRC

BEIJING, Dec. 7 -- The consumer price index (CPI) in December will not exceed 5 percent year-on-year and will be lower than in November, Zhou Wangjun, vice director of the Price Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, said in a CCTV interview.

China's CPI, a main gauge of inflation, soared by 4.4 percent in October to reach a 25-month high.

The November CPI may increase by approximately 4.8 percent, said Peng Wensheng, chief economist with China International Capital Corp Ltd, China's first joint venture investment bank, the Securities Times reported Monday.

Wang Tao, chief Chinese economist with UBS Securities, expected November's CPI to rise by 5 percent year-on-year. She expects the central bank to raise interest rates around the time, when November economic data is released. The National Bureau of Statistics will release the data on Dec 13, according to its website.

China increased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, or 0.25 percentage points on Oct 19 to curb inflation. China had not moved its interest rates in nearly three years.

Wang also predicted the central bank would increase interest rates by 0.75 percentage points in 2011.