China Producer Prices Change

China's producer price inflation eased to a 14-month low of 6.4% yoy in May 2022 from 8.0% in the prior and matching market consensus. The latest figure represented the 17th straight month of increase in producer prices, amid weak demand for steel, aluminium, and other key industrial commodities due to strict COVID-19 restrictions. Cost of means of production moderated (8.1% vs 10.3% in April), led by extraction (29.7% vs 38.3%), raw materials (15.1% vs 17.4%), and processing (3.2% vs 4.8%). Meantime, consumer goods inflation edged up (1.2% vs 1.0%), with prices growing further for food (2.2% vs 1.6%), daily use goods (1.5% vs 1.8%), and clothing (1.2% vs 0.7%) while cost of consumer durable fell further (-0.1% vs -0.1%). On a monthly basis, producer prices increased by 0.1%, after a 0.6% gain in April. Considering the first five months of the year, China's factory gate prices grew by 8.1%.