Edible-oil producers said Wednesday Chinese authorities for the first time this year have sanctioned a rise in the retail prices they charge, a sign that after months of tough price controls Beijing is letting some inflation effects be felt in households.
食用油生產商周三說，中國當局今年首次批准上調食用油零售價格。此舉表明，在數月嚴格的價格控制後，北京開始允許部分通貨膨脹影響觸及家庭。
Prices on supermarket shelves for cooking oil are jumping 5%, major producers said. 'Yes, we are raising prices of our cooking oil in China by about 5%,' Lim Li Chuen, a spokeswoman for the largest producer of edible oil in China, Singapore-based Wilmar International Ltd., said by email.
主要生產商說，超市中食用油的價格將大幅提高5%。總部位於新加坡、在華最大的食用油生產商豐益國際(Wilmar International Ltd.)發言人Lim Li Chuen在電子郵件中說，是的，我們將把在華食用油價格提高約5%。
The permission to raise prices, granted by the National Development and Reform Commission, the government planning agency, follows recent increases in other prices that will be felt by consumers. The upward adjustments also come ahead of a July inflation report next week that is expected to show overall price increases leveled after surging to 6.4% in June from the year earlier.
在國家發改委批准食用油提價前，其他消費品價格最近也有所上漲，並將影響到消費者。此次食用油的漲價正值下周公布7月份通貨膨脹報告之前。預計報告將顯示總體價格漲幅在6月份同比上漲6.4%後持平。
One factor in July's inflation reading, according to Capital Economics, is 'tentative evidence' of peaking pork prices. Pork is a staple in China and prices of pork continued rising this year even after those of other foods eased.
據凱投宏觀(Capital Economics)說，影響7月份通貨膨脹數據的因素之一是有初步證據顯示豬肉價格逐漸見頂。在中國，豬肉是主要肉食品，即使是在其他食品價格漲勢有所緩和後，今年豬肉價格仍繼續上漲。
Cooking oil is another particularly important commodity for price-sensitive Chinese households, more commonly used even than rice and bottles of it are considered an appropriate gift.
對在意價格的中國家庭來說，食用油是另外一種尤其重要的大宗商品，甚至比大米還常用，瓶裝食用油還被視為一種不錯的禮品。
Beijing, which carefully controls retail prices of soybean oil, late last year capped levels in what was described by authorities as a temporary move but one which was later extended. Oil refiners said the move pinched margins at the wholesale point, prompted some to reduce production and merely underpinned price pressures.
北京通常嚴格控制豆油零售價格，去年底限制了豆油最高零售價。當局稱這是一種臨時措施，但之後實施時間被延長了。煉油廠商說，此舉擠壓了批發端的利潤率，促使一些生產商減產，只不過是增大了物價壓力。
Price caps were also extended to a range of foods in China, while vegetable producers, truckers and retailers were granted subsidies in an effort to keep output high and prices under control.
在中國，為價格設限的做法還擴大到了各類食品，而蔬菜生產商、運輸商和零售商獲得補貼，以便保持高產量、控制住價格。
A Shanghai-based producer of edible oil said the increase followed lobbying by the nation's five big brands.
上海一家食用油生產商說，漲價是在中國五大品牌的遊說後獲得批准的。
UBS economists said in a report this week that China's central bank may increase interest rates by 0.25 percentage point in the short term. 'If that happens, it would be the last hike in the year, given that headline CPI inflation will moderate from August onwards, albeit only gradually,' UBS economists said.
瑞士銀行(UBS)經濟學家本周在報告中說，短期內中國央行可能加息0.25個百分點。他們說，由於從8月開始總體通貨膨脹將會緩和，雖然只是逐漸緩和，如果加息，將是今年最後一次。
For most of this year, Beijing has been keeping tight control over consumer prices. The planning agency in May set a two million yuan, or $308,000, fine on Unilever PLC after retailers said the company, and other consumer product groups, was telling them of planned price increases. Unilever concedes it was planning to raise prices.
今年大部分時間，北京一直嚴格控制消費價格。5月份，國家發改委對聯合利華(Unilever PLC)處以罰款人民幣200萬元（合30.8萬美元）；在那之前，零售商說聯合利華和其他消費品集團告訴他們計劃漲價。聯合利華承認當時在計劃漲價。
Upward price pressures remain around China. This week, a group of vocal taxi drivers in the southeastern tourist city of Hangzhou idled their vehicles for three straight days in hopes of winning rights to raise prices. On Wednesday, according to Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, cabbies won a government-funded subsidy equal to around 16 U.S. cents per trip and a pledge from authorities that the fares will rise by October.
中國各地依然存在物價上漲壓力。本周，杭州市的一群直言不諱的計程車司機連續罷工三天，希望可以漲價。周三，據新華社報導，計程車司機獲得了政府提供的補貼，每次行程補貼相當於約16美分，當局還承諾10月前將上調計程車車價。
In recent weeks, the government has also permitted airlines to add a surcharge on seat prices, effectively allowing carriers to pass on some of the costs of an increase in jet kerosene that also took effect around the same time.
近幾周，政府還批准航空公司在票價外加收費用，實際上是允許航空公司將部分航空煤油的成本上升轉嫁給乘客。航空煤油的漲價也是在同一時間前後生效的。