More inflation warnings on Wednesday in China, this time from a highly symbolic source. The price of a Big Mac has risen from Rmb14 to Rmb15 at the branch of McDonald’s around the corner from the FT’s Beijing bureau - part of an across-the-board price hike that the US fast food chain blamed on rising costs of ingredients - even if that is still less than two-thirds of the price of a Big Mac in the US.

McDonald’s is getting more expensive just as government’s planners appear to be dusting off some of their price control tools, potentially sending some mixed signals.

Premier Wen Jiabao was quoted on television on Wednesday evening as saying the State Council was preparing new measures to tame price rises, while state media have announced the imminent launch of new price controls.