The People’s Bank of China has increased the reserve requirements among local banks as part of the government’s efforts to prevent consumer prices in the country from rising. The bank’s directive, which increases the volume of shares a bank must hold in reserve and, therefore, curbing its lending capacity, is the fourth such move the government has taken this year. It followed the release of new data showing that the country’s consumer price index increased by 5.4 percent, the Wall Street Journal says. By increasing banks’ reserve requirements, the Chinese government hopes to address inflation by slowing down the entry of new credit into the economy, the news agency adds.