BEIJING: China's factory gate prices fell last month at their slowest pace since February, official data showed on Monday, suggesting the country's manufacturing sector continues to see a rapid recovery from the COVID-19 shock.
The producer price index (PPI) eased 0.4% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. The index was expected to decline by 0.8%, according to a median forecast in a Reuters poll, after a 1.5% drop in November. Monthly PPI rose at its fastest pace in four years.
Annual consumer prices meanwhile returned to growth last month, underpinned by a rebound in food prices, after falling in November for the first time in over a decade.
An impressive rebound in China's industrial sector has helped the world's second-largest economy post a robust recovery from the COVID-19 shock in early 2020.
Consumer prices rose in December due to higher food prices.
The consumer price index (CPI) increased 0.2% from a year earlier, against expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.1% rise, and bringing full-year consumer price inflation to 2.5% in 2020. The index had eased 0.5% in November, the first fall since 2009.
Food prices rose 1.2% from a year ago, compared with a decline of 2.0% in the previous month.
Prices for raw materials fell 1.6% from a year ago, compared with a decline of 4.2% in the previous month, the data showed. PPI rose 1.1% last month, the fastest pace since December 2016.
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