China's central bank will hike interest rates by another 25 basis points in March following the rate hike announced Tuesday, Caijing.com.cn reported Wednesday.

The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) officials predicted there will be another two rate hikes in the first half of this year, the first of which will occur around the time of China's "two sessions" and the release of February's economic data.

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The National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, is to convene its annual session in Beijing on March 5, and the Chinese People's Political and Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's political advisory body, will begin its annual session on March 3. These "two sessions" will last for more than 10 days.

The National Bureau of Statistics is to release the February data on March 11, according to a schedule on its website.

ABC officials said the rate hike on Tuesday is within expectation, and the central bank may have decided on the hike before the Chinese Spring Festival holiday from Feb 2 to Feb 8 this year. On Feb 8, People's Bank of China, China's central bank, raised interest rates by 25 basis points for the third time since mid-October.

ABC also said the year-on-year growth rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a main gauge for inflation, may hit 5.2 percent in January. That is higher than the 28-month high of 5.1 percent in November of last year. The rate hikes will be designed to tame inflation.

This rate hike is in accordance with the State Council's latest measures to tame runaway housing prices, ABC added. The State Council, China's Cabinet, announced on Jan 26 that the down payment ratio for a family buying a second home will be raised to at least 60 percent.