China's factory prices down 2.8% in March

China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, decreased by 2.8 percent year on year in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.

The decrease widened from a 2.7-percent decline in February. On a monthly basis, the PPI edged down 0.1 percent, narrowing from a 0.2-percent decrease a month earlier, the data showed.

In the first quarter of 2024, the PPI went down 2.7 percent year on year.

Relatively speaking, the supply of industrial goods was adequate in March as industrial production resumed after the holidays, said NBS statistician Dong Lijuan.

Among the major industries, the PPI of the oil and gas extraction industry went up 1.1 percent month on month, while that of the petroleum, coal and other fuel processing sectors rose 0.2 percent from the previous month as imported price factors drove up domestic prices in industries related to oil and non-ferrous metals.

The supply of coal was generally stable last month while warmer weather reduced demand for heating coal, causing the PPI of the coal mining and washing industry to decrease by 1.6 percent month on month in March.

The carry-over effect of last year's price movements dragged down the year-on-year PPI decline by 2.3 percentage points last month, according to Dong.

China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, edged up 0.1 percent year on year in March, NBS data showed.