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BEIJING – China’s factory prices fell last month at their slowest pace since February, official data showed on Monday, suggesting that China’s manufacturing sector continues to see a stable recovery from the COVID-19 shock.
The producer price index (PPI) fell 0.4% from the previous year, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. The index was expected to fall 0.8%, according to the median of a Reuters survey forecast, after falling 1.5% in November.
The data are released at a time when manufacturing activity in the world’s second largest economy expanded in December, but at a slightly slower pace amid higher raw material costs.
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On a monthly basis, the PPI rose 1.1% in December, after an increase of 0.5% in November, pointing to an improvement in corporate profitability.
Raw material prices fell 1.6% compared to the previous year, compared to a 4.2% drop in the previous month.
China’s factory prices fell last month at their slowest pace since February, official data showed on Monday, suggesting that China’s manufacturing sector continues to see a stable recovery from the COVID-19 shock.
China’s industrial sector has made an impressive recovery from the coronavirus shock thanks to surprisingly strong exports, helping to fuel a robust economic recovery. But the rise in global infections – and new restrictions on coronaviruses in many countries – may obscure prospects for Chinese manufacturers.
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The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% from the previous year, in December, after falling 0.5% in November, the first drop since October 2009. Analysts in the Reuters survey predicted an increase of 0.1%.
Food prices rose 1.2% over the previous year, compared to a 2.0% drop in the previous month.