Inflation 'set to increase further'

Raising interest rates too quickly could result in a 'hard-landing'

BEIJING - Inflation may rise further after it hit 5.3 percent year-on-year in April, economists said, but policymakers should not increase interest rates, at least in the short term, if they want to avoid a "hard-landing".

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, was 0.1 percentage points lower than the 32-month high of 5.4 percent in March, but it is still significantly higher than the government's 4 percent target for this year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday.