A SPOKESMAN for the People’s Bank of China said Thursday the central bank has no comment on speculation in world foreign exchange markets that China may revalue the yuan again in its uphill battle against rising inflation.

“We have nothing to say regarding this,” he told reporters when asked about talk among currency traders that a proposal on the revaluation has been submitted to the National People’s Congress, and that the congress may approve the proposal during its annual meeting.

Details of the rumored proposal, such as the scale of the revaluation, remain unclear, but there is talk that the government could announce its decision as early as Friday, Shanghai-based traders said, citing speculation in overseas markets.

In the past few days, speculation of a fresh revaluation has been rife in major global foreign exchange trading centers such as New York and London.

The speculation centers on the growing perception that China may be forced to rely more on a strong currency to fight 11-year-high inflation after failing to cool its economy with six interest rate hikes and 10 bank reserve requirement ratio increases last year. The central bank raised the reserve requirement ratio again in January.

China’s consumer price index rose 8.7 percent in February, marking its fastest growth since May 1996.

In July 2005, China revalued the yuan and has since allowed the yuan to appreciate steadily against the U.S. dollar in a tightly managed trading band. (SD-Agencies)