UPDATE 1-China think-tank says economy to grow 8 pct in '09

* Economy has bottomed out - State Information Centre

* But does not mean a recovery has begun - report

* CPI to fall about 0.5 pct this year - report

(Adds details from report)

SHANGHAI, July 9 (Reuters) - China's economy will grow at about eight percent this year, and while the economy has bottomed out it does not mean a recovery has begun, according to a report published by a top national think-tank on Thursday.

The State Information Centre under the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said in a research report carried in the official China Securities Journal that the consumer price index (CPI) would fall about 0.5 percent this year.

The country's producer price index (PPI) was expected to drop around 5 percent, it added. The think-tank added that the trade surplus this year would fall to about $220 billion, while exports would drop about 17.5 percent and imports fall 16 percent.

The centre recommended that the government should not cut interest rates any more this year, lest it stokes inflation. It also suggested that China is better off not adding more supportive policies, but should perfect the existing stimulus measures. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Alfred Cang; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)