Beijing orders local price controls

Six national ministries and administrations, including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), released a circular Thursday urging local governments to strictly control price increases by the end of the year, China Youth Daily reported (in Chinese). The price of goods and service set by local governments, such as utilities, are not to go up for the rest of the year, according to the circular. Local governments were also told to implement price-monitoring and -report ing systems to alert them to any abnormal price changes and improve emergency reaction plans to ensure market supply and price stability. China's consumer price index in August rose 6.5% year-on-year, an 11-year high.