According to the results of a survey carried out and released by the central bank in late December, in the fourth quarter a higher proportion of urban resident respondents expressed satisfaction with their income for the period.

In the fourth quarter, 28.5 percent of urban residents expected increased income for the period, 2.6 percent and 6.1 percent higher than that for the previous quarter and the same quarter in 2005, respectively. Income sentiment hit 22.6 percent, 4.1 percent higher than the previous quarter and 8.3 percent higher than that of the same period of the previous year. People were optimistic about their income for next quarter, with 30.7 percent expecting a higher income, up 3.2 percent than the third quarter. The expectation index for future income reached 27.1 percent, a record high.

However, residents' satisfaction over prices slid for the third consecutive quarter in the last quarter of 2006. Only 10.8 percent were satisfied with the prices, down 0.2 percent from the previous quarter and 1.3 percent year on year, a record low. But there emerged minor changes: the proportion that felt prices to be "unreasonably" high was 0.3 percent lower than the previous quarter, attributing to a turning point in the continuous dissatisfaction over prices. On the other hand, those that believed prices were "high but acceptable" climbed to 64.4 percent, 0.4 percent higher than the third quarter.

On a geographical basis, a smaller proportion of residents in larger cities were satisfied with current prices, at some 9.9 percent, one percent lower than mid-sized cities and 1.5 percent lower than small cities. Expectations over rising prices were high - 50.8 percent of residents expected prices to rise. The expectation index for future prices was 48.2 percent, a record high since 1999 when the first survey was conducted.

In addition, more residents were willing to accept the deposit interest rates, with 40 percent believing the rates were set on proper levels. But the proportion that deposited their money in banks in order to gain interest declined. To be specific, 42.8 percent believed that the deposit interest rates were set properly by commercial banks, up 5.4 percent and 6.5 percent compared with the previous quarter and the same period of the year before respectively, a record high. In the meantime, depositors saving for the purpose of gaining interest returns declined for the third quarter in a row, down 0.02 percent and 0.4 percent, which was mainly due to the emerging wealth management products that might generate higher returns.

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