Bank deposits up as stocks fall out of favor

A growing number of people are choosing to keep their money in the bank rather than invest it in stocks or property, a central bank survey released yesterday said.

More than 51 percent of the 20,000 households polled said the current level of interest rates was "appropriate", the quarterly survey by the People's Bank of China said. The figure was up from 46 percent in the previous poll held in the fourth quarter of last year, and was the fourth consecutive quarterly increase.

The central bank raised interest rates six times last year in a bid to curb inflation. The rate for a standard one-year savings account is now 4.14 percent, up from 2.52 percent at the start of last year.