China's Service Production Index up 4.6 pct in October

China's service sector saw steady growth in October, with the Service Production Index growing by 4.6 percent and modern services maintaining sound development, said Fu Linghui, spokesman of the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing on Friday.

"In October, China's Services Production Index rose 4.6 percent year on year. Breaking it down by sector, the production indices for information transmission, software and IT services, leasing and business services, and financial services outpaced the overall index by 8.4, 3.6 and 1.0 percentage points, respectively," said Fu at a press conference.

"Meanwhile, the Business Activity Index in railway transport, air transport, postal services, accommodation, and culture, sports and entertainment, all stayed within the high expansion range of 60 percent and above," he said.

China's commodity price index stood at 129.9 points in March, up 4 percent month on month and 14.5 percent year on year, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Sunday.

Among the 50 major commodities under key monitoring by the CFLP, 38 recorded a month-on-month price increase in March.

Specifically, diesel, methanol and ethylene glycol led the gains, rising 30.5 percent, 30.4 percent and 29.3 percent, respectively, from the previous month.

Affected by imported factors such as tensions in the Middle East and a sharp rise in international crude oil prices, China's energy and chemical price indices rose significantly, up 16.5 percent and 21.8 percent month on month, respectively.

Driven by rising international fertilizer prices and growing demand for biofuels, China's agricultural product price index increased by 2.8 percent month on month.

Analysts noted that the sharp rise in the commodity price index in March comes from factors such as the recovery of the domestic commodity market, the good outcomes of policies, and the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Given the increasingly volatile international commodity prices and the rising uncertainties in importing energy, chemicals and other commodities, it is necessary to diversify the sources of raw materials, expand the use of alternative resources, and enhance the ability to resist and respond to risky factors that may cause fluctuation in markets, said the analysts.