China’s producer prices rise 3.6% in September

2018-10-16
Xinhua

BEIJING — China’s producer price index (PPI), which measures costs of goods at the factory gate, rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Oct 16.

The growth slowed from the 4.1-percent gain in August.

NBS statistician Sheng Guoqing said the carryover effect contributed 1.9 percentage points to the 3.6-percent year-on-year PPI growth, while new factors contributed 1.7 percentage points.

The prices of the means of production climbed 4.6 percent year-on-year in September, down from 5.2 percent in August, due to a relatively high base of comparison, according to Sheng.

Of all industrial sectors, producer prices in the sectors of nonmetal mineral products, ferrous metal processing, chemical raw materials and products, and coal exploration and dressing saw lower growth rates than in August.

These industries contributed 0.32 percentage points to the 0.5-percentage point drop in the year-on-year PPI growth in September from August, according to Sheng.

On a monthly basis, the PPI increased 0.6 percent in September, picking up from 0.4 percent in August.

For the first nine months of the year, the PPI climbed 4 percent on average from the same period last year.

Tuesday’s data also showed the country’s consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.5 percent year-on-year in September, compared with 2.3 percent in August.