BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- China will lift the upper limits of the deposit rates for US dollars and Hong Kong dollars in commercial banks within Chinese territory.

    The People's Bank of China (PBoC), the nation's central bank, declared Monday that the upper limits for one-year deposits of both US dollars and Hong Kong dollars will increase 0.375 percentage points to 2.000 percent and 1.875 percent, respectively.

    Tian Yaling, an expert on foreign exchange, said the PBoC's interest hike is related to the interest hike by the United State's Federal Reserve.

    "The interest change reflects China's efforts to act in line with the international community," said Tian, noting that the interest hike may temper the anticipation of Renminbi appreciation.

    This is the third time this year that the central bank increases deposit rates for the two currencies. The first was on July 22 when the country initiated the reform of Renminbi exchange rates. PBoC statistics shows that deposits of foreign currency decreased by 4.8 billion US dollars in July. Enditem