摘要
First-quarter GDP growth came in at an impressive, and slightly frightening, 11.9%, up from 10.7% in the fourth quarter of 2009, and close to China＇s record 12.6% growth in the second quarter of 2007. While much of this was due to low numbers from the first quarter of 2009, the higher-than- expected numbers from a variety of industrial sectors -- including consumer appliances, infrastructure development, and especially the property sector where prices rose 11.7% in March from a year earlier and automobiles, where sales were up 76% in the first quarter -- has led most analysts to argue that interest rate hikes, or a revaluation of the RMB, will be on the cards in the coming month or two.
