BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 2.5 percent year on year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Saturday.
The decrease narrowed from a 2.8-percent decline in March. On a monthly basis, the PPI edged down 0.2 percent, widening from a 0.1-percent decrease a month earlier, the data showed.
In April, industrial production continued to recover, but the demand in some sectors experienced a temporary decline, said NBS statistician Dong Lijuan.
Among the major industries, the PPI of the oil and gas extraction industry went up 3.4 percent month on month, while that of the petroleum, coal and other fuel processing sectors rose 1 percent from the previous month as international price increase drove up domestic prices in industries related to oil and non-ferrous metals.
Coal supply is sufficient, and the demand for thermal coal saw a seasonal decline, causing the PPI of the coal mining and washing industry to decrease by 3 percent month on month in April.
The carry-over effect of last year's price movements dragged down the year-on-year PPI decline by 1.8 percentage points last month, according to Dong.
China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, edged up 0.3 percent year on year in April, NBS data showed. ■