The nation's producer price inflation surged for a fourth straight month in June to its highest since July 2022 while consumer prices extended gains, official data showed on Thursday.

The producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went up 4.1 percent year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The gauge, which logged a 3.9 percent gain in May, had snapped a years-long deflationary streak in March as energy prices soared in the wake of the Iran war.

Higher prices in coal mining, electrical machinery, electronics and ferrous metals were among the main factors contributing to the rises in producer prices.

On a month-on-month basis, the PPI dipped 0.3 percent.

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose one percent, slowing from a 1.2 percent increase in May as price rises for industrial consumer goods eased, including those for gold jewellery and gasoline.

On a month-on-month basis, the CPI edged down 0.3 percent.

Bureau statistician Dong Lijuan said lower international crude oil prices drove down prices in related domestic industries, while seasonal factors led to divergent price trends in the broad energy sector.

Meanwhile, faster industrial upgrading boosted demand and lifted prices in some sectors such as new materials and industrial robots. (Reuters & Xinhua)


Edited by Aaron Tam