China still has space to tighten monetary policy further -paper

SHANGHAI, April 18 (Reuters) - China still has room to further tighten monetary policy, the official China Securities Journal said in a front-page editorial on Monday.

The newspaper added it was "cautiously optimistic" about the economic outlook for the year, and that monetary policy should not be relaxed.

China's central bank raised lenders' required reserves for the fourth time this year on Sunday, increasing the required reserve ratio for the country's biggest banks to a record 20.5 percent. [ID:nL3E7FH05Y]

The move marked the seventh time China has increased banks' reserve requirements since the latest tightening cycle began in October last year.

The central bank has also raised interest rates four times since October and imposed price control measures on certain commodities.

China released statistics last week showing consumer prices rose at 5.4 percent in March, the fastest pace since August 2008. [ID:nL3E7FF0AC]

China faces price pressures from rising global commodity prices and abundant liquidity, fed by sustained capital inflows.

China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said over the weekend that there was no absolute upper limit for the reserve ratio. [ID:nL3E7FG019] (Reporting by Emma Ashburn; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)