China’s factory-gate prices in March turned positive for the first time in more than three years, official data showed on Friday, pointing to rising import cost pressures linked to the Middle East crisis.
The producer price index (PPI) increased 0.5 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, ending a 41-month streak of declines. The reading beat an estimated 0.4 percent gain in a Reuters poll.
The consumer price index (CPI) ticked up 1 percent year-on-year, slower than a 1.3 percent rise in February. Economists polled by Reuters had expected prices to climb 1.2 percent.
On a monthly basis, CPI fell 0.7 percent, below expectations for a 0.2 percent decline and compared with a 1 percent rise in February.
Reuters
