A weekend interest rate hike in China is seen as the first step as regulators in the country show signs of increasing urgency in trying to slow the pace of economic growth.

It was the third time in a year the People's Bank of China (PBOC) lifted the key loan rate, the latest measure in a long campaign to slow runaway growth in the Chinese economy, which last year expanded 10.7%.

The central bank's announcement on Saturday raised rates by 0.27 points to 6.39%.