CICC Forecasts 4.5% CPI Growth for 2011

(Beijing) -- China's average inflation rate for 2011 is expected to stand at 4.5 percent with a gradual decline after the third quarter, according to Peng Wensheng, chief economist of China International Capital Corporation (CICC).

Peng said during the Lujiazhui Forum in Shanghai on May 20 that China's consumer price index (CPI) will peak in the third quarter and is expected to drop to 4 percent in the fourth quarter. The annual average CPI will be around 4.5 percent.