document: China 's March CPI rise to exceed 5 % : economists BEIJING , April 2 -LRB- Xinhua -RRB- - China 's consumer prices are expected to rise more than five percent in March on a lower comparison basis from a year ago and imported inflation , economists have said . Shanghai-based Shenyin Wanguo Securities predicts the Consumer Price Index -LRB- CPI -RRB- , a major gauge of inflation , to increase 5.3 percent in March , the highest in nearly two years , driven by rising food prices and a lower year-on-year comparison basis . Food prices are likely to jump 12.3 percent from a year ago while the lower comparison basis would contribute 3.4 percent to the CPI rise , the company said in a report . The Bank of Communications also expects March CPI to rise more than 5 percent on pressure from imported inflation . Lu Zhengwei , chief economist with Industrial Bank , said the central bank is likely to hike interest rates after mid-April . China will release economic data for March in mid-April . February 's CPI remained on par with that of January at 4.9 percent . The growth rose from 4.6 percent in December but was less than the 28-month high of 5.1 percent in November .
extractive_keyphrases: central shenyin imported inflation january exceed communications december percent comparison economic economist march driven securities pressure consumer prices economists expected lower years beijing xinhua bank jump china major prices increase
abstractive_keyphrases: imported inflation economists midapril february's