(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-20 19:05

Related readings:  PBOC rules out imminent interest rate hike  Morgan Stanley: China may raise interest rate despite US cut  Interest rate raised for 5th time this year  Interest rate raised to curb inflation

China will raise the one-year deposit interest rate by 27 basis points to 4.14 percent and the lending rate by 18 basis points to 7.47 percent as of December 21, the central bank said Thursday.

This is the sixth time for China to raise the benchmark interest rates this year.

The move is to "prevent the economy from overheating and the structural price rises from evolving into evident inflation", the central bank said in a statement posted on its website.

It is in line with the primary task for China's economic work in 2008 set at the annual Central Economic Work Conference held at the beginning of this month.