The Prices of China’s Chemical Raw Materials and Products Fell by 6.9% Year-on-Year in October

The national PPI (Industrial Producer Price Index) data released by China National Bureau of Statistics on November 9 showed that in October, industrial production and operating activities maintained expansion, affected by factors such as fluctuations in international crude oil and non-ferrous metal prices and the higher comparison base in the same period last year, the national PPI turned from rising to flat month-on-month, and the year-on-year decline slightly expanded.

In October 2023, the national industrial producer price dropped by 2.6% year-on-year and remained unchanged month-on-month; the purchasing price of industrial producers fell by 3.7% year-on-year and increased by 0.2% month-on-month.

From a month-on-month perspective, PPI remained flat from an increase of 0.4% in the previous month. Affected by the fluctuations in international crude oil and non-ferrous metal prices, prices in the oil and natural gas mining industry, petroleum coal and other fuel processing industries increased by 2.8% and 2.5% respectively, and the increases fell back by 1.3% and 0.6% respectively; prices in the coal mining and washing industry increased by 3.4% %, the increase expanded by 2.3%. In addition, the manufacturing industry of chemical raw materials and chemical products increased by 0.7% month-on-month.

From a year-on-year perspective, PPI fell by 2.6%, an increase of 0.1% from the previous month. The year-on-year decline expanded, mainly due to the higher comparison base in the same period last year. Among the major industries, the price decline narrowed: the coal mining and washing industry fell by 15.4%, a narrowing of 0.2%; the chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry fell by 6.9%, a narrowing of 0.2%; the petroleum, coal and other fuel processing industry fell by 3.8%, narrowing by 2.9%. In addition, prices in the oil and natural gas extraction industry increased by 1.7% from a decrease of 3.3% in the previous month.

Among the purchasing prices for industrial producers, the price of fuel and power decreased by 6.7% year-on-year and increased by 1.4% month-on-month; the price of chemical raw materials decreased by 6.3% year-on-year and increased by 1% month-on-month.

On average from January to October, the ex-factory price of industrial producers fell by 3.1% compared with the same period last year, and the purchasing price of industrial producers fell by 3.6%.