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Posts Tagged ‘intrest rate’

China to raise interest rates within month – report

February 2, 2011 Comments off
BEIJING: China will likely raise interest rates again within the month, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing a forecast of economists and bankers with knowledge of the thinking of Chinese policymakers.

The Hong Kong-datelined story did not identify its sources, citing the sensitivity of the information.

It also cited the economists and bankers as saying China was unlikely to let the yuan currency appreciate faster anytime soon as a way to fight inflation.

Analysts polled by Reuters saw two more rate rises by the end of the first half.

The median forecast of economists polled by Reuters is for inflation to reach its fastest in more than two years at an annual pace of 5.3 percent for January.

Categories: China Tags: , ,

Cheap food may be a thing of the past

February 2, 2011 1 comment
Vincent Kessler  /  Reuters

U.S. grain prices should stay unrelentingly high this year, according to a Reuters poll, the latest sign that the era of cheap food has come to an end.

U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat prices — which surged by as much has 50 percent last year and hit their highest levels since mid-2008 — will dip by at most 5 percent by the end of 2011, according to the poll of 16 analysts.

The forecasts suggest no quick relief for nations bedeviled by record high food costs that have stoked civil unrest. It means any extreme weather event in a grains-producing part of the world could send prices soaring further.

The expectations may also strengthen importers’ resolve to build bigger inventories after a year in which stocks of corn and soybeans in the United States — the world’s top exporter — dwindled to their lowest level in decades.

Story: Global food chain stretched to the limit Read more…

Categories: Coming Events, COMMODITIES, Food Crisis, world, World Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,