China inflation: factory gate prices jump most in almost three years in March as producers pass on rising costs

China’s official producer price index (PPI) rose to 4.4 per cent in March from a year earlier, compared with 1.7 per cent in February

China’s consumer price index (CPI) rose to plus 0.4 per cent in March from a year earlier, compared to minus 0.2 per cent in February

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China’s consumer price index (CPI) rose to plus 0.4 per cent in March from a year earlier, compared to minus 0.2 per cent in February. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 9:38am, 9 Apr 2021Updated: 12:22pm, 9 Apr 2021

China’s factory gate prices rose the most in more than two years in March, as producers passed on rising raw material prices, data released on Friday showed.

The producer price index (PPI), which reflects the prices that factories charge wholesalers for their products, rose to 4.4 per cent in March from a year earlier, up from the gain of 1.7 per cent in February, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

This was above expectations, with a Bloomberg survey of analysts predicting a rise to 3.6 per cent, after rising to the highest level since July 2018.

China’s official consumer price index (CPI), meanwhile, rose to plus 0.4 per cent in March from a year earlier, from minus 0.2 per cent in February, the NBS said.

This was also above the Bloomberg survey median, which had predicted 0.3 per cent, and represented the first rise in three months.

Beijing has set a 2021 CPI growth target of around 3 per cent per cent, compared to around 3.5 per cent last year.

China’s core consumer inflation rate, excluding volatile food and energy prices, was 0.3 in March compared to a year earlier, up from a flat reading in February.

Food prices fell to minus 0.7 per cent in March, from 0.2 per cent in February