CHINESE PREMIER PLEDGES TO REIN IN SOARING CONSUMER PRICES

According to ACN: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told Internet usersSunday that he would not allow consumer prices to surge unchecked.Wen made the remarks in an on-line chat with the public whenanswering questions concerning rising prices. China had adequategrain reserves after seven consecutive years of increasing harvestsand abundant foreign exchange reserves, which would help the countryto fight inflation, Wen said. Maintaining price stability had alwaysbeen a priority of China's economic development as excessiveincreases in consumer prices would not only affect people's lives,but also disrupt social stability, he said. China's consumer priceindex (CPI), a major gauge of inflation, rose 4.9 percent in Januaryfrom a year earlier as food prices increased 10.3 percent due torising demand and a drought in key grain-growing regions.