In January, Producer Price Index (PPI) for manufactured goods was down 3.3 percent year-on-year; purchasing prices for raw material, fuels and power fell 5.3 percent.

PPI for means of production decreased 4.4 percent from a year earlier. Of the total, PPIs for mining and quarrying, raw materials industry and machining industry correspondingly dropped 13.2, 6.8 and 2.2 percent. PPI for means of consumer goods gained a fine increase of 0.1 percent. Of which, PPIs for foodstuff increased 0.2 percent; that of clothing and commodities rose 0.9 and 1.0 percent, while that of durable consumer goods dropped 1.5 percent.

In terms of different categories:

PPI for crude oil declined 49.9 percent, year-on-year. PPIs for gasoline and kerosene increased 2.1 and 3.1, while that for diesel fell 4.8 percent.

PPI for latex, polystyrene and terylene respectively declined 39.0, 31.4 and 30.5 percent.

PPI for mining and washing of coal industry was up 22.7 percent over last January. Of which, PPI for crude coal was up 12.3 percent.

PPI for smelting and pressing of ferrous metals decreased 7.2 percent from the same month last year. Of which, PPIs for ordinary large, medium, and small steels declined 5.3, 9.4 and 3.4 percent; that of heavy steel plate and wire rod got a decrease of 15.2 and 14.5 percent, year-on-year.

PPI for smelting and pressing of nonferrous metals was down 24.6 percent, year-on-year. Of the total, aluminum, copper, lead and zinc came were down 19.8, 41.1, 36.7 and 43.0 percent respectively.

In addition, wherein the purchasing price for raw materials, fuels and power products, the price for nonferrous metal materials, fuel and power, chemical materials and ferrous metal materials declined 28.4, 7.4, 6.8 and 4.7 percent, year-on-year.

(National Bureau of Statistics February 12, 2009)