BEIJING -- A senior official with China's central bank predicted on Monday that China will see a consumer price rise of about 3 percent this year.

Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said this year's inflation would remain in a "controllable spectrum".

Yi made the remarks ahead of a group discussion during the ongoing annual session of the country's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Yi's prediction was made just before Premier Wen Jiabao is to set an inflation target on Tuesday in a government work report.