China told banks to set aside more deposits as reserves for the fourth time in two months, stepping up efforts to rein in liquidity after foreign-exchange holdings rose by a record and lending exceeded targets.
Reserve ratios will increase 50 basis points starting Jan. 20, the People’s Bank of China said on its website today. One basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
Today’s move, adding to the Christmas Day interest-rate increase, underscores Premier Wen Jiabao’s determination to tame inflation that may trigger social unrest. Officials may front- load monetary tightening to the first half of the year after deciding to shift to a “prudent” monetary policy, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley.
“With surging foreign-exchange inflows late last year and a possible rebound in bank lending in January, the central bank needs to ratchet up the reserve ratio to soak up liquidity,” Ken Peng, a Beijing-based economist at Citigroup Inc., said before today’s announcement. Inflation may quicken in January after easing in December from the fastest pace in more than two years, according to Peng.
China is leading the world economy out of the recession. As such, this is an important development.
