China Feb inflation may top January's -stats chief

China's wild weather in February may have pushed consumer inflation above the previous month's level, but the government's inflation target for the year remains within reach, a senior official said on Saturday.

China's consumer inflation averaged 4.8 percent in 2007 but soared to an annual rate of 7.1 percent in January, an 11-year high.

Xie Fuzhan, commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics, told reporters that the consumer price index number for February could top January's.

"February CPI may have been higher than January due to the snow disaster," Xie told reporters on the sidelines of China's annual parliament session.

Xie added that the government's target of 4.8 percent for full-year inflation was "achievable." Monetary tightening was needed for 2008, he said when asked about interest rate policy.

Asked whether consumer prices could rise more than 5 percent this year, Xie said: "I'm sure the central government will take some measures to control price increases."

Nineteen economists polled by Reuters recently projected that the annual consumer inflation rate in February picked up to a median 8.0 percent, from 7.1 percent in January.

The release of inflation data is expected some time next week.