China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, returned to year-on-year growth in March 2026, ending a 41-month streak of decline, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.
The PPI went up 0.5 percent year on year in March, reversing a 0.9 percent drop in February, according to the NBS.
NBS statisticians attributed the turnaround mainly to imported inflationary pressures and improved supply-demand dynamics in some domestic industries.
The price of nonferrous metal mining and dressing industry increased by 36.4 percent year-on-year in March, while the price of nonferrous metal smelting and pressing industry rose by 22.4 percent.
The price of petroleum and natural gas extraction industry increased by 5.2 percent. In contrast, the prices of petroleum, coal, and other fuel processing industry, as well as chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry, declined by 4.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
In March, the prices of photovoltaic equipment and components manufacturing, as well as lithium-ion battery manufacturing, increased by 5.2 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
With the accelerated expansion of "AI Plus" initiative and rapid growth in demand for computing power, the price of fiber optic manufacturing rose by 76.1 percent.
On a monthly basis, the PPI increased by one percent in March, marking the sixth consecutive month of growth. The growth rate expanded by 0.6 percentage points compared to the previous month, representing the largest increase in 48 months.
The price of petroleum and natural gas extraction industry increased by 15.8 percent month-on-month in March, while the price of petroleum, coal, and other fuel processing industry rose by 5.8 percent.
The price of chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry increased by 3.6 percent on a monthly basis.
China's PPI up 0.5 pct in March
China's PPI up 0.5 pct in March
