China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, fell 0.2 percent from a month ago in July -- an improvement considering the 0.4 percent-drop recorded in June, while also marking the first month-on-month narrowing since March, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Saturday.
Compared with a year earlier, the PPI slid by 3.6 percent in July, the same as in June.
The NBS attributed the improving PPI performance in part to optimized market competition order, ongoing industrial shifts and unleashed domestic demand potential.
The prices in the non-metallic mineral products industry fell by 1.4 percent month on month, while the prices in the ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry dropped by 0.3 percent month on month.
The coal mining and washing industry saw a price drop of 1.5 percent month on month, while the electricity and heat production and supply industry experienced a decrease of 0.9 percent.
Under the uncertainty of the international trade environment, prices in the computer communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing industries decreased by 0.4 percent month on month.
The automotive manufacturing industry saw a price drop of 0.3 percent, while the prices of the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry and the general equipment manufacturing industry both fell by 0.2 percent.
Together, these eight industries contributed to the month-on-month decline of about 0.24 percentage points in the PPI.
The month-on-month price declines in the coal mining and washing industry, ferrous metal smelting and rolling industry, photovoltaic equipment and component manufacturing industry, cement manufacturing industry, lithium-ion battery manufacturing industry narrowed by 1.9, 1.5, 0.8, 0.3 and 0.1 percentage points, respectively. In total, their impact on the month-on-month PPI decline decreased by 0.14 percentage points compared to the previous month.
In addition, international imported factors have driven up prices in the domestic petroleum and non-ferrous metal-related industries. Prices in the oil and gas extraction industry increased by 3.0 percent, while prices in the non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling industry rose by 0.8 percent.
The continuous effect of macroeconomic policies has improved supply and demand relationships in some industries, leading to positive changes in prices.
Along with the gradual advancement in the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and capacity management of key industries, emerging industries are growing rapidly. As a result, prices in related industries have rebounded on a year-on-year basis.
The price of caustic soda increased by 3.6 percent year on year, while the price decline in the glass manufacturing industry narrowed by 0.9 percentage points compared with the previous month.
The prices of the aircraft manufacturing industry, wearable smart device manufacturing industry, microwave communication equipment industry and server industry rose by 3.0 percent, 1.6 percent, 0.9 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.
The consumer market has seen sustained healthy development with the in-depth implementation of the special programs for boosting consumption, and the increase in demand for upgraded consumption has driven prices in some industries to rise year on year.
The manufacturing prices of arts, crafts and etiquette products increased by 13.1 percent, and those of sports balls, nutritional food, health food and bicycles rose by 5.3 percent, 1.3 percent, 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.
China sees narrowed PPI drop in July
