The People's Bank of China noted in its latest quarterly update on currency policy that the prices for certain consumer goods and production materials risked rising in the future.

"Generally China's consumer goods would be in oversupply in the future," it said.

As China accelerated pricing reform on energy products to facilitate more rational utilization of resources, prices of water, electricity, oil and gas would "continue to rise".

In October, China produced 187 million tons of raw coal, up 14.6 percent from the same month last year, and 15.5 million tons of crude oil, up 0.6 percent. The output of steel stood at 41.59 million tons, a rise of 23.4 percent.

The central bank predicted economic growth may slow down in the fourth quarter due to the macro-control policies and global economic environment. But the 2006 economic growth will still be above 10 percent.

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