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.

　　中国在不到六个月的时间里第四次加息。这是中国政府阻击不断上升的通胀率的最新尝试。通胀问题已经让中国这个世界第二大经济体的消费者和企业倍感忧虑。

　　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.

　　中国人民银行宣布周三起将基准利率上调0.25个百分点，一年期人民币存款利率上调至3.25%，一年期贷款利率上调至6.31%。自去年10月以来，中国央行已经累计加息一个百分点，但存款利率仍远低于通胀率，而贷款利率也仅略高于通胀率。

　　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中国央行的加息举措对周二早间美国的外汇市场、原油期货均产生了影响。中国央行周二发布的声明说，此次加息也适用于个人住房公积金贷款。这和前几次加息的情况相同。但在最近几次加息中（去年10月、12月和今年2月），这一次是央行首次明确指出加息对个人住房公积金贷款的影响。这至少说明央行加息的部分动机是遏制不断上涨的房价。高房价是公众抱怨的主要焦点。

　　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.

　　市场普遍预期央行会再一次加息，但周二宣布加息还是早于一些人的预期，因为这一天正好是全国性假日，市场休市，大多数企业也没有上班。这也引发市场猜测定于下周公布的3月份消费者价格指数（CPI）可能高于中央政府的预期。1月和2月，CPI较上年同期上升4.9％，略低于去年11月5.1％的水平，但仍接近两年半来的高点。

　　"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）经济学家王庆在一份报告中写道，本次加息暗示将于下周初公布的3月份CPI可能超出市场预期出现上涨。这也意味着中国有关部门对潜在增长势头的可持续性充满信心。

　　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.

　　中国领导人正试图在阻击通胀和保持经济平稳较快发展之间维系岌岌可危的平衡。已经处于较高水平的通胀在过去几十年中曾引发中国社会的动乱，而保持经济平稳较快发展才能为中国的大量人口创造就业。中国政府能否成功处理这两方面的问题对全球经济影响重大。因为对于向中国出售汽车和电脑之类的消费品以及钢材和铜之类的大宗商品的企业与经济体来说，中国经济增长是主要驱动力。

　　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.

　　中国央行周二的公告引发澳元兑美元下跌，因为市场担心中国紧缩政策对澳大利亚铁矿石和其它矿藏需求的影响。

　　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.

　　全球各发展中国家都在努力应对不断飙升的消费价格，造成价格上涨的原因之一是发展中国家为避免经济增长枯竭而实施了超低利率。中国的决策人士一直说，美国的宽松货币政策给中国带来了输入性通胀压力，原因是美国的政策推高了大宗商品价格，造成资金流入经济增长更快的新兴市场。

　　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.

　　韩国、泰国、印度尼西亚和菲律宾已经公布说3月份消费价格上涨，价格处于金融危机后的最高水平或接近最高水平，显示了地区范围的继续加息压力。越南周二说，从5月份开始将公务员和国有企业员工的最低工资上调13.7%，此举意在帮助员工们应对不断上涨的价格，不过经济学家说这会进一步推高通胀。

　　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，中国还大幅提高了银行存款准备金率，以便在持续了两年的贷款大幅增长后减少信贷流。有关部门还向包括联合利华(Unilever PLC)在内的企业施压，让它们推迟食品和主要消费品的预定涨价。

　　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.

　　 尽管中央政府监管部门采取了一系列措施控制房价，中国大部分主要城市的房价却继续攀升。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购买。

　　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.

　　 中国发改委下属的国家信息中心经济学家王远鸿估计，由于涨价趋势越来越多地扩大到非食品领域，3月份中国CPI涨幅将增至5.2%或5.3%。他说，周二的加息是因为中国在控制通胀和流动性方面面临巨大压力。

　　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.

　　尽管如此，一些经济学家却认为，中国可能开始接近紧缩措施的尾声。咨询公司凯投宏观(Capital Economics)经济学家威廉姆斯(Mark Williams)在报告中说，我们认为利率目前可能已经触顶，他说有数据显示经济活动放缓，通货膨胀率持平。

　　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.

　　道琼斯通讯社(Dow Jones Newswires) 3月底进行的一项调查显示，受访的10位经济学家均预计6月底之前会有新一轮的加息举措，其中约有半数经济学家预计之后利率会再上调0.25个百分点。

　　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.

　　 周二的加息正值中国清明节，此前中国有一系列的加息举措是在出人意料的时间宣布的。前两次加息分别是在今年2月8日（春节假期的最后一天）和去年12月25日（圣诞节）。圣诞节在中国并非公共假日。

　　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)经济学家宋宇说，他预计不会有新一轮加息，不过假如央行在5月1日开始的下一个公共假期再次加息，或许不会令很多人感到意外。