China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, fell 4.6% year on year in May, following a 3.6% fall a month earlier, data showed from the National Bureau of Statistics on June 9.
On a monthly basis, the index was down 0.9% from April, compared with a 0.5% fall a month ago.
The prices of production materials dropped 1.2% year on year in May, specially driven by a 3.4% fall in mining industry prices, a 1.5% fall in raw material prices, and a 0.9% fall in processing industry prices.
Coal prices have slumped in May due to a combination of high stocks and mild consumption. Meanwhile, prices of other major commodities experienced declines to different extents.
"In May, overall international commodity prices fell, while domestic and foreign industrial market demand was generally weak, coupled with a high base of comparison in the same period last year, PPI continued to decline both year on year and month on month," said senior NBS statistician Dong Lijuan.
The consumer price index (CPI) increased 0.2% in May from a year earlier, after a 0.1% rise in April. On a monthly basis, the index fell 0.2% after a 0.1% drop in the previous month.
Within the CPI, food prices in China rose by 1% from a year earlier in May, compared to a rise of 0.4% growth in April, while non-food prices remained stable year on year, down from an increase of 0.1% growth in April.
Prices for pork, a staple on Chinese dinner tables, fell by 3.2% in May compared to a year earlier, while fruit prices rose by 3.4% year on year and vegetable prices fell by 1.7%.
China's core consumer inflation rate, excluding the volatile prices of food and energy, rose 0.6% in May compared with a year earlier, down from 0.7% growth in April.
"In May, consumer demand continued to recover and the market operated generally smoothly, with the CPI falling on a monthly basis and widening slightly from a year earlier," Dong Lijuan said.
(Writing by Alex Guo Editing by Harry Huo)
For any questions, please contact us by inquiry@fwenergy.com or +86-351-7219322.