China raised interest rates for the fourth time in less than six months in a fresh attempt to battle rising inflation that has weighed on consumers and businesses in the world's No. 2 economy.

　　中國(guó)在不到六個(gè)月的時(shí)間里第四次加息。這是中國(guó)政府阻擊不斷上升的通脹率的最新嘗試。通脹問題已經(jīng)讓中國(guó)這個(gè)世界第二大經(jīng)濟(jì)體的消費(fèi)者和企業(yè)倍感憂慮。

　　The People's Bank of China said benchmark rates would increase on Wednesday by a quarter percentage point to 3.25% for one-year deposits in the local currency, and 6.31% for one-year loans. The central bank has now raised the official cost of credit by one percentage point since October, but deposit rates remain well below the rate of inflation, and lending rates are only slightly above it.

　　中國(guó)人民銀行宣布周三起將基準(zhǔn)利率上調(diào)0.25個(gè)百分點(diǎn)，一年期人民幣存款利率上調(diào)至3.25%，一年期貸款利率上調(diào)至6.31%。自去年10月以來，中國(guó)央行已經(jīng)累計(jì)加息一個(gè)百分點(diǎn)，但存款利率仍遠(yuǎn)低于通脹率，而貸款利率也僅略高于通脹率。

　　The central bank's statement Tuesday said the increase would also apply to mortgage loans. That was also true with previous increases, but Tuesday was the first time in the series of recent moves─in October, December, and February─that the central bank flagged the effect on mortgages, indicating at least part of its motivation is to contain rising property prices that have been a major source of public complaint.

　　Zuma Press中國(guó)央行的加息舉措對(duì)周二早間美國(guó)的外匯市場(chǎng)、原油期貨均產(chǎn)生了影響。中國(guó)央行周二發(fā)布的聲明說，此次加息也適用于個(gè)人住房公積金貸款。這和前幾次加息的情況相同。但在最近幾次加息中（去年10月、12月和今年2月），這一次是央行首次明確指出加息對(duì)個(gè)人住房公積金貸款的影響。這至少說明央行加息的部分動(dòng)機(jī)是遏制不斷上漲的房?jī)r(jià)。高房?jī)r(jià)是公眾抱怨的主要焦點(diǎn)。

　　A new rate increase was widely expected, though the timing of Tuesday's news─on a national holiday when markets and most businesses were closed─was earlier than some expected. That prompted speculation that the consumer-price index reading for March─scheduled to be announced next week─may be higher than Beijing had hoped. In both January and February, the CPI rose 4.9% from a year earlier, down slightly from November's 5.1% but still running near two-and-a-half-year highs.

　　市場(chǎng)普遍預(yù)期央行會(huì)再一次加息，但周二宣布加息還是早于一些人的預(yù)期，因?yàn)檫@一天正好是全國(guó)性假日，市場(chǎng)休市，大多數(shù)企業(yè)也沒有上班。這也引發(fā)市場(chǎng)猜測(cè)定于下周公布的3月份消費(fèi)者價(jià)格指數(shù)（CPI）可能高于中央政府的預(yù)期。1月和2月，CPI較上年同期上升4.9％，略低于去年11月5.1％的水平，但仍接近兩年半來的高點(diǎn)。

　　"This rate hike suggests that the March CPI that is to be released early next week may have surprised to the upside," said Morgan Stanley economist Wang Qing in a note. "It also suggests that Chinese authorities are confident in the sustainability of underlying growth momentum."

　　摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家王慶在一份報(bào)告中寫道，本次加息暗示將于下周初公布的3月份CPI可能超出市場(chǎng)預(yù)期出現(xiàn)上漲。這也意味著中國(guó)有關(guān)部門對(duì)潛在增長(zhǎng)勢(shì)頭的可持續(xù)性充滿信心。

　　China's leaders are trying to manage a precarious balance between damping inflation─which, at much higher levels, has triggered social unrest in China in decades past─and keeping its economy churning fast enough to generate jobs for its huge population. Beijing's success or failure holds enormous consequences for the global economy because Chinese economic growth is major driver for corporations and economies that sell consumer goods, such as cars and computers, and commodities, such as steel and copper, to China.

　　中國(guó)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人正試圖在阻擊通脹和保持經(jīng)濟(jì)平穩(wěn)較快發(fā)展之間維系岌岌可危的平衡。已經(jīng)處于較高水平的通脹在過去幾十年中曾引發(fā)中國(guó)社會(huì)的動(dòng)亂，而保持經(jīng)濟(jì)平穩(wěn)較快發(fā)展才能為中國(guó)的大量人口創(chuàng)造就業(yè)。中國(guó)政府能否成功處理這兩方面的問題對(duì)全球經(jīng)濟(jì)影響重大。因?yàn)閷?duì)于向中國(guó)出售汽車和電腦之類的消費(fèi)品以及鋼材和銅之類的大宗商品的企業(yè)與經(jīng)濟(jì)體來說，中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)是主要驅(qū)動(dòng)力。

　　Tuesday's announcement sent the Australian dollar down against the U.S. dollar, on concerns about the impact of China's tightening on demand for Australia's iron ore and other minerals.

　　中國(guó)央行周二的公告引發(fā)澳元兌美元下跌，因?yàn)槭袌?chǎng)擔(dān)心中國(guó)緊縮政策對(duì)澳大利亞鐵礦石和其它礦藏需求的影響。

　　Developing economies around the world are battling soaring consumer prices, thanks in part to ultra-low interest rates in developed economies that are trying to keep growth from petering out. Chinese policy makers have argued that loose monetary policy in the U.S. causes imported inflation pressure in China because it boosts commodity prices and causes funds to flow into faster-growing emerging markets.

　　全球各發(fā)展中國(guó)家都在努力應(yīng)對(duì)不斷飆升的消費(fèi)價(jià)格，造成價(jià)格上漲的原因之一是發(fā)展中國(guó)家為避免經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)枯竭而實(shí)施了超低利率。中國(guó)的決策人士一直說，美國(guó)的寬松貨幣政策給中國(guó)帶來了輸入性通脹壓力，原因是美國(guó)的政策推高了大宗商品價(jià)格，造成資金流入經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)更快的新興市場(chǎng)。

　　South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines have already reported consumer-price rises for March, and all were either at post-financial-crisis highs or near them, signaling region-wide pressure to continue to raise interest rates. Vietnam on Tuesday said it will raise the minimum wage for public servants and employees of state companies by 13.7% from May, a moved designed to help employees cope with rising prices but one that economists said would fuel inflation further.

　　韓國(guó)、泰國(guó)、印度尼西亞和菲律賓已經(jīng)公布說3月份消費(fèi)價(jià)格上漲，價(jià)格處于金融危機(jī)后的最高水平或接近最高水平，顯示了地區(qū)范圍的繼續(xù)加息壓力。越南周二說，從5月份開始將公務(wù)員和國(guó)有企業(yè)員工的最低工資上調(diào)13.7%，此舉意在幫助員工們應(yīng)對(duì)不斷上漲的價(jià)格，不過經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家說這會(huì)進(jìn)一步推高通脹。

　　In addition to raising interest rates, China has also sharply increased the share of deposits that lenders must keep on reserve with the central bank in an effort to reduce the flow of credit after two years of huge loan growth. Authorities have also pressured companies, including Unilever PLC, to delay planned increases in the prices of their food products and consumer staples.

　　 除加息外，中國(guó)還大幅提高了銀行存款準(zhǔn)備金率，以便在持續(xù)了兩年的貸款大幅增長(zhǎng)后減少信貸流。有關(guān)部門還向包括聯(lián)合利華(Unilever PLC)在內(nèi)的企業(yè)施壓，讓它們推遲食品和主要消費(fèi)品的預(yù)定漲價(jià)。

　　Property prices have continued to rise in most major Chinese cities despite a series of measures by central-government regulators to rein them in, including higher down-payment requirements for mortgages and outright bans on buying second or third homes in some cities.

　　 盡管中央政府監(jiān)管部門采取了一系列措施控制房?jī)r(jià)，中國(guó)大部分主要城市的房?jī)r(jià)卻繼續(xù)攀升。政府的措施包括提高首付比例，禁止部分城市二套房或三套房的購買。

　　Wang Yuanhong, an economist of the State Information Center, a think tank affiliated with China's economic planning agency, estimated that CPI growth accelerated to 5.2% or 5.3% in March, as price increases spread increasingly to non-food items. Tuesday's rate move came because " the country faces very big pressures in curbing inflation and liquidity," he said.

　　 中國(guó)發(fā)改委下屬的國(guó)家信息中心經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家王遠(yuǎn)鴻估計(jì)，由于漲價(jià)趨勢(shì)越來越多地?cái)U(kuò)大到非食品領(lǐng)域，3月份中國(guó)CPI漲幅將增至5.2%或5.3%。他說，周二的加息是因?yàn)橹袊?guó)在控制通脹和流動(dòng)性方面面臨巨大壓力。

　　Still, some economists think China may be nearing the end of its tightening efforts. 'We think rates may now have peaked,' economist Mark Williams from consulting firm Capital Economics said in a note, pointing to data he said indicated a slowdown in economic activity and inflation leveling out.

　　盡管如此，一些經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家卻認(rèn)為，中國(guó)可能開始接近緊縮措施的尾聲。咨詢公司凱投宏觀(Capital Economics)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家威廉姆斯(Mark Williams)在報(bào)告中說，我們認(rèn)為利率目前可能已經(jīng)觸頂，他說有數(shù)據(jù)顯示經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)放緩，通貨膨脹率持平。

　　In a survey conducted in late March, all ten economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires expected a fresh interest-rate move by the end of June, with about half predicting there would also be another quarter-point increase afterward.

　　道瓊斯通訊社(Dow Jones Newswires) 3月底進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，受訪的10位經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家均預(yù)計(jì)6月底之前會(huì)有新一輪的加息舉措，其中約有半數(shù)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家預(yù)計(jì)之后利率會(huì)再上調(diào)0.25個(gè)百分點(diǎn)。

　　Tuesday's increase fell on the tomb-sweeping festival holiday, marking the latest in a string of oddly timed rate announcements. The last two rate moves were on Feb. 8, the final day of the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday; and Dec. 25, Christmas Day, which isn't an official holiday in China.

　　 周二的加息正值中國(guó)清明節(jié)，此前中國(guó)有一系列的加息舉措是在出人意料的時(shí)間宣布的。前兩次加息分別是在今年2月8日（春節(jié)假期的最后一天）和去年12月25日（圣誕節(jié)）。圣誕節(jié)在中國(guó)并非公共假日。

　　Goldman Sachs economist Yu Song said he isn't predicting another increase, but if the central bank were to raise interest rates again during the next public holiday, which starts on May 1, "it probably wouldn't surprise many people."

　　高盛(Goldman Sachs)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家宋宇說，他預(yù)計(jì)不會(huì)有新一輪加息，不過假如央行在5月1日開始的下一個(gè)公共假期再次加息，或許不會(huì)令很多人感到意外。