China Raises Bank Reserve Ratios to Fight Inflation

China told banks to set aside more deposits as reserves for the fourth time in just over two months, stepping up efforts to rein in liquidity after foreign-exchange holdings rose by a record and lending exceeded targets.

Reserve ratios will increase 50 basis points starting Jan. 20, the People’s Bank of China said on its website today. One basis point is 0.01 percentage point. Interest rates were left unchanged.