China's Factory Gate Prices Continue Decline In May As Demand Wanes
China's producer price index (PPI), a key gauge of factory-gate costs, saw a continued decline in May, dropping 3.3 percent year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Monday. This marks a persistent trend of falling prices for goods as they leave factories, signaling ongoing challenges in the industrial sector.
On a month-on-month basis, the PPI also saw a decrease of 0.4 percent in May. Concurrently, the purchasing prices for industrial producers, reflecting input costs for businesses, fell by 3.6 percent year on year.
NBS statistician Dong Lijuan attributed the decline in PPI primarily to external and internal factors. She cited falling international crude prices, which directly impacted domestic prices in petroleum-related industries. Domestically, a seasonal slowdown in demand for energy and raw materials, coupled with easing coal prices and disruptions to construction activity due to hot and rainy weather in southern regions, also contributed to the downward pressure on prices.
Further reflecting subdued price levels across the economy, China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, was down 0.1 percent year on year in May.
The May data underscores the ongoing challenges faced by China's economy in rekindling robust domestic demand and managing its industrial output amidst a complex global economic environment. Related
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