A growing number of mainland residents plan to increase their savings as opposed to increasing spending, a quarterly survey conducted by China's central bank suggests.               A growing number of mainland residents plan to increase their savings as opposed to increasing spending, a quarterly survey conducted by China's central bank suggests. About 36.8 percent of 20,000 respondents surveyed said "more saving" is a better option at present than "more spending," up 2.2 percentage points from a quarter ago, the People's Bank of China said on its Website yesterday. The survey was conducted in 50 cities. The increase in the number of people planning to save more ends two straight quarterly decreases, the report said. "The new interest rate hike had a big effect on residences' trends for more saving," the central bank said. On August 19, the central bank raised its deposits rates, the first hike in almost two years, with the one-year rate rising from 2.25 percent to 2.52 percent. About 68.2 percent of respondents said they have deposits at banks, up 1.7 percentage points from the previous quarter. The rate hike has also had a negative effect on the real estate market. The central bank raised lending rates on August 19, the second hike in less than four months. Though it also allows commercial banks to offer a 15 percent discount on individual mortgages, up from the previous 10 percent discount, the hike still hit real estate consumption. About 17.5 percent of respondents said they plan to buy property in the next three months, down 0.1 percentage points from a quarter ago. Respondents also said savings accounts are more attractive than stocks. Only 12.9 percent of survey respondents said they plan to buy more stocks, down from a record high of 15.8 percent in the second quarter. A report from the Shanghai branch of the central bank earlier this month showed that yuan-denominated deposits in local banks rose in August following the interest rate increase.

央行最新一项季度调查表明，越来越多的大陆居民倾向于存钱，而不是花钱。 据中国人民银行昨天在其网站上发布的消息，在参加此项调查的2万人中，约36.8%的人说，在目前状况下，"多存钱"比"多花钱"明智，这个比例比上季度的调查高出2.2的百分点。此项调查共在50个城市内进行。 调查报告中提到，计划多存钱的居民增多结束了连续两个季度下跌的趋势。 央行说，居民储蓄的增加和存款利率的上调有很大关系。 8月19日，央行上调存款利率，将年利率从2.25％调至2.52％，这是两年来央行首次上调存款利率。 68.2％的调查对象说他们有银行储蓄，比上季度的调查结果高出1.7个百分点。 此外，利率上调对房地产市场也产生了不利影响。 央行于8月19日上调贷款利率，距上次上调还不到四个月。虽然央行允许商业银行为个人房贷提供的利率优惠从先前的10％升至15％，但贷款利率的上调还是对房地产的消费造成了影响。 约17.5的调查对象说，他们打算在三个月内买套房子，比上季度调查结果低0.1个百分点。 此外，调查对象认为银行储蓄要比投资股票安全的多。 只有12.9％的调查对象说他们打算继续投资股票，低于上季度15.8％的历史最高点。 央行上海分行本月早些时候公布的一份报告显示，存款利率上调后，上海当地银行8月份的人民币储蓄量有所增加。