China's factory-gate price decline narrows in August

China saw its factory-gate prices decline narrowed in August, while consumer prices fell slightly, the official data showed on Wednesday.

China's producer price index - which measures factory-gate prices – fell 2.9 percent in August from a year earlier, easing from a 3.6 percent drop in July and marking the first improvement since February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Dong Lijuan, an NBS statistician, attributed the narrowing decline not only to a lower comparison base last year but also to the stronger implementation of proactive macroeconomic policies, which helped some industries see positive pricing changes.

"The continuous improvement in domestic market competition has led to narrowing price declines in related industries. And the construction of a unified national market has advanced, curbing disorderly competition and promoting orderly capacity adjustment in key industries, which in turn has stabilized prices," Dong said.

"Meanwhile, the steady growth of new drivers has contributed to a rebound in prices in some sectors," Dong added. "Emerging industries are thriving, technological and industrial innovation are deeply integrated, and green development has enhanced efficiency, all of which have supported price recovery in related industries."

On a month-on-month basis, the PPI was flat in August, up from a 0.2 percent drop in July, according to the NBS.

The country's consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, fell by 0.4 percent year-on-year in August, while consumer prices were unchanged in July, according to the NBS.

Month-on-month, the CPI was flat in August, following a 0.4 percent growth in July.

Dong from the NBS said the year-on-year decline in CPI in August was mainly due to a higher comparison base in the same period last year, combined with a lower-than-seasonal rise in food prices.

"However, with policies to expand domestic demand and boost consumption taking effect continuously, the year-on-year increase in core CPI has accelerated for the fourth consecutive month in August," Dong said.

NBS data showed the core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices and is deemed a better gauge of the supply-demand relationship, increased 0.9 percent year-on-year in August, up from a 0.8 percent rise in July.

ouyangshijia@chinadaily.com.cn