China's PPI growth edges down in June with more balanced supply, demand

BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- China's producer prices registered slower growth in June amid the country's continuous efforts to ensure supply and stabilize prices of raw materials, official data showed Friday.

China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went up 8.8 percent year on year in June, falling from the 9 percent growth in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The carryover effect contributed 2.4 percentage points to the PPI growth, while new price increases contributed 6.4 percentage points.

On a monthly basis, the PPI gained 0.3 percent, dropping by 1.3 percentage points from May, data from the NBS shows.

The price hike in certain industries including steel and non-ferrous metals was subdued, as prices moved from rising to falling in June.

The price of international crude oil rose further last month, driving up the prices of industrial products in China, said Dong Lijuan, a senior NBS statistician.

In the first six months, the PPI growth averaged 5.1 percent year on year, according to the NBS.

The country is gradually seeing more balanced market supply and demand, and the price growth of industrial products has been slowing down, said Dong.

The PPI data came along with the release of the consumer price index, one of the main gauges of inflation, which gained 1.1 percent year on year in June.