Key China think-tank sees 8 percent GDP growth in Q1

Workers check on electricity pylon situated amid farmlands in Chuzhou, Anhui province, February 5, 2013.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's gross domestic product will grow at annualised rate of about 8 percent in the first quarter of 2013 while the consumer price index will rise around a yearly 2.6 percent, the China Securities News said, quoting the State Information Centre (SIC), a leading government think tank.

Fixed asset investment will grow 21 percent during the quarter, a similar rate as the same period last year, it said.

After seven straight quarters of slowdown, growth picked up in the fourth quarter last year but 2012 still marked the slowest year of growth for China since 1999.

China's economic growth is likely to rebound to 8.1 percent in 2013 from 7.8 percent last year, a Reuters poll showed in late January.

January's consumer inflation fell to 2.0 percent from December's seven-month high of 2.5 percent, suggesting price pressures are subdued for now.

Economists expect inflation to pick up steam through the first quarter, though likely staying below 3.5 percent in 2013, a level they think the government will soon announce as its target.

(Reporting by John Ruwitch and Chen Yixin; Editing by Eric Meijer)