China needs to monitor its economy further before making any decision about whether to change interest rates, a government official said Tuesday.

Han Yongwen, spokesman for China's top planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, made the comment to Dow Jones Newswires when asked whether the government would raise interest rates.

Economists are speculating that the central bank may lift rates to cool an economic boom after the government reported last week that growth in the second quarter surged 11.2 percent, its fastest rate in a decade. Chinese leaders worry that the sizzling growth could accelerate inflation or create a glut of construction projects, which in turn could cause developers to default on loans.

The central bank raised a key lending rate 27 basis points to 5.85 percent in April, and has also imposed controls meant to restrain bank lending and construction.