China's producer price growth tames in May

BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went up 6.4 percent year on year in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

The figure moderated from the 8 percent year-on-year increase registered in April. On a monthly basis, China's PPI gained 0.1 percent in May, compared with the 0.6 percent increase in April.

Both the monthly and year-on-year growth rates of PPI continued to narrow thanks to the effective coordination of epidemic control, economic and social development, and measures to ensure smooth and stable industrial and supply chains, according to senior NBS statistician Dong Lijuan.

Among 40 industrial sectors surveyed, 37 saw price growth in May, the same as that in April, NBS data showed.

The coal mining and washing industry saw its PPI climb 37.2 percent year on year in May, shrinking 16.2 percentage points from April.

The PPI of the gas production and supply industry went up 22 percent year on year in May, expanding 1.3 percentage points from April.

The carry-over effect of last year's price movements contributed about 4.1 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI growth in May, according to the NBS.

Friday's data also showed that China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.1 percent year on year in May.