BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China's producer prices rose at a faster pace in March amid a steady recovery in domestic demand, official data showed Friday.
China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went up 4.4 percent year on year last month, quickening from the 1.7-percent rise in February, according to the the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
On a monthly basis, the PPI gained 1.6 percent, driven by price rises of global commodities.
Among the 40 surveyed industrial sectors, 30 saw prices increase month on month, while six reported price drops and four stayed unchanged.
A breakdown of the data showed that the PPI for the domestic oil and natural gas extraction sector rose 9.8 percent month on month due to continued growth in international crude oil prices.
In the first quarter, the PPI growth averaged at 2.1 percent year on year.
The PPI data came along with the release of the consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, which gained 0.4 percent year on year in March. Enditem
