Trade in bulk commodities, the industrial backbone of the manufacturing sector, rallied in China last month according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Friday.
The index that tracks the market price of bulk commodities stood a 112 for March, a slight month-on-month increase of 0.6 percent.
The sustained upward movement shows that China's downstream consumption is gradually picking up, and market operations are maintaining a recovery trend thanks to the country's policies to stabilize the economy.
Among all 50 bulk commodities monitored by CFLP, 23 saw price increases in March compared to the previous month.
The commodities with the highest price increases were lithium carbonate, palm oil and refined nickel, showing an increase of 15.2 percent, 8.8 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively, from the previous month.
Lithium carbonate is a key ingredient in ceramic and glass production, while nickel is essential for many electronic products.
The sub-index for non-ferrous metals -- alloys that do not contain substantial amounts of iron -- also saw a month-on-month increase of 3.6 percent, while the sub-index for the chemical industry inched up for the third consecutive month.
Prices for ferrous metals, including steel, fell 6.7 percent month on month in March, according to the data.
Experts said that the decrease was mainly caused by a shortage of funds, a low start-up rate of construction projects, and a slowdown in the procurement of raw materials for steel plants.
The overall rebound of China's bulk commodity price index during the month, however, shows that the market confidence has recovered thanks to comprehensive effects brought by China's economic policies, they said.
China's bulk commodity prices edge up in March
Two of China's leading business organizations say they firmly oppose the abuse of the Section 301 tariff review procedure and the decision of tariff hikes by the United States.
On top of existing tariffs under Section 301, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday announced that it had decided to raise additional tariffs on imports of Chinese products including electric vehicles (EVs), lithium-ion batteries, solar cells, critical minerals, semiconductors, steel and aluminum, and cranes.
Speaking on behalf of China's business sector, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) urged the U.S. to fully abide by the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, immediately withdraw the tariff hikes, and encourage its business community to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation with China, so as to jointly safeguard the stability of the industrial and supply chains and contribute to the recovery of the world economy.
China says it has integrated its EV, lithium-ion battery, and photovoltaic battery industries into the global supply chain by innovating and actively engaging in market competitions, which has significantly contributed to global efforts of energy conservation and emission reduction.
The USTR, in defiance of the WTO rules, continued to abuse the Section 301 tariff review procedure and substantially raise tariffs on relevant Chinese imports, which China says is a typical unilateralist and trade protectionist practice.
The U.S. also provides large subsidies to support its domestic EV, semiconductor and other industries, which blatantly contradicts the principles of market economy and international economic and trade rules, and undermines the stability and security of the global industrial and supply chains.
Chinese business bodies urge US to drop tariff hikes
