CPI target well within reach, say economists

BEIJING - Though China's consumer inflation is likely to peak in the third quarter of this year, the effective administrative price-control measures and a more flexible yuan will help ease inflation pressures, economists said on Monday.

At the same time, economists were not too sure on whether the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, would remain within the 3 percent target set for the full year and how high the peak would be.

The country's CPI is likely to peak in June or the third quarter, said Cao Yuanzheng, the chief economist of Bank of China International.