Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in May 2026, the Producer Price Index for Industrial Products increased by 3.9% compared to the same period last year and rose by 0.5% month-on-month.
The Purchasing Price Index for Industrial Producers saw a year-on-year increase of 5.8% and a month-on-month increase of 1.3%.
On average from January to May, the ex-factory price for industrial producers rose by 1.0% compared to the same period last year, while the purchasing price increased by 1.6%.
Year-on-Year Changes in Industrial Producer Prices
In May, within the ex-factory price for industrial producers, the price of production materials increased by 5.2% year-on-year, contributing approximately 4.08 percentage points to the overall increase in the ex-factory price index.
Specifically, prices in the mining industry rose by 15.8%, raw materials industry prices increased by 9.2%, and processing industry prices went up by 2.3%.
Conversely, the price of consumer goods fell by 0.8%, dragging down the overall ex-factory price index by about 0.18 percentage points.
Within this category, food prices decreased by 1.8%, prices for clothing and general daily necessities both fell by 1.0%, and prices for durable consumer goods remained flat.
For industrial producer purchasing prices, the cost of non-ferrous metals and wire materials surged by 22.0%, chemical raw materials rose by 11.8%, fuel and power increased by 10.0%, textile materials went up by 2.5%, and ferrous metal materials edged up by 0.3%.
In contrast, prices for building materials and non-metallic products declined by 5.5%, and agricultural and sideline products fell by 1.6%.
Month-on-Month Changes in Industrial Producer Prices
In May, the price of production materials within the ex-factory price index increased by 0.7% month-on-month, contributing about 0.53 percentage points to the overall rise.
Breaking this down, mining industry prices rose by 1.5%, raw materials industry prices increased by 0.9%, and processing industry prices went up by 0.5%.
The price of consumer goods remained unchanged from the previous month.
Within this segment, food prices dipped by 0.1%, while prices for clothing, general daily necessities, and durable consumer goods all increased by 0.1%.
For purchasing prices, chemical raw materials saw a 4.2% increase, fuel and power rose by 2.7%, textile materials increased by 1.0%, ferrous metal materials went up by 0.6%, and both non-ferrous metals/wire materials and agricultural/sideline products increased by 0.3%.
Prices for building materials and non-metallic products decreased by 0.5%.
Dong Lijuan, Chief Statistician at the NBS Department of Urban Surveys, provided an analysis, noting that the Producer Price Index rose by 0.5% month-on-month and 3.9% year-on-year, influenced by factors including increased domestic demand in certain sectors and the transmission of fluctuations in international commodity prices.
On a month-on-month basis, the national PPI increased by 0.5%, though the growth rate was 1.2 percentage points lower than the previous month.
The main characteristics of the PPI's monthly performance were as follows.
First, industrial restructuring and upgrading drove price increases in some sectors.
Ongoing equipment renewal in manufacturing pushed prices in the smelting and pressing of ferrous metals up by 1.2% month-on-month.
The acceleration of electrification, the deep integration of artificial intelligence across fields, and growing demand for computing power contributed to price rises in non-ferrous metals, electrical machinery, and computer-related industries.
Prices for the smelting and pressing of non-ferrous metals increased by 1.1%, with tin smelting and copper smelting prices rising by 4.8% and 3.1% respectively.
The manufacturing of computers, communication, and other electronic equipment saw a price increase of 0.6%, with integrated circuit packaging and testing series, and external storage devices and components rising by 2.9% and 1.9% respectively.
Manufacturing of electrical machinery and apparatus prices increased by 0.5%, with optical fiber manufacturing and wire and cable manufacturing prices rising by 8.0% and 1.2% respectively.
Second, seasonal demand increases led to higher prices in certain industries.
Coal demand for summer peak power preparation and non-power uses increased, pushing prices in coal mining and washing up by 3.2% month-on-month.
As temperatures rose in May, prices for manufacturing household air conditioners and household refrigeration appliances increased by 0.9% and 0.3% respectively, while power supply prices rose by 0.4%.
Third, fluctuations in international crude oil prices led to price declines or smaller increases in related domestic industries.
Petroleum extraction prices shifted from a 24.1% increase last month to a 1.8% decrease this month.
Refined petroleum product manufacturing prices turned from a 19.0% increase to a 0.3% decrease.
Prices for the manufacturing of raw chemical materials and chemical products, chemical fibers, and rubber and plastic products increased by 2.0%, 1.5%, and 1.5% respectively, but these growth rates were 6.3, 4.1, and 0.2 percentage points lower than the previous month.
On a year-on-year basis, the national PPI increased by 3.9%, with the growth rate expanding by 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous month.
Analyzing by industry, among sectors with price increases, non-ferrous metal mining and dressing rose by 36.5%, smelting and pressing of non-ferrous metals increased by 24.0%, coal mining and washing rose by 10.0%, manufacturing of electrical machinery and apparatus increased by 4.5%, manufacturing of computers, communication, and other electronic equipment rose by 2.1%, and smelting and pressing of ferrous metals increased by 1.0%.
These six industries collectively contributed approximately 2.56 percentage points to the year-on-year PPI increase, an upward pull effect 0.51 percentage points greater than last month.
Extraction of petroleum and natural gas, processing of petroleum, coal and other fuels, and manufacturing of raw chemical materials and chemical products increased by 35.7%, 18.4%, and 12.7% respectively, together contributing about 1.96 percentage points to the PPI increase, an upward pull effect 0.46 percentage points greater than the previous month.
Among industries with price declines, manufacturing of non-metallic mineral products fell by 5.1%, production and supply of electric power and heat power decreased by 4.4%, automobile manufacturing dropped by 2.0%, and processing of agricultural and sideline food products declined by 1.4%.
These four sectors collectively contributed to a decrease of about 0.75 percentage points in the year-on-year PPI, a downward pull effect 0.01 percentage points greater than the previous month.
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