China Producer Prices Rise 2.8% in April on Raw Material Costs

China's industrial producer prices continued to rise in April 2026, driven by higher costs in mining, raw materials, and energy-related sectors, official data showed.

According to the latest figures, China's Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures prices at the factory gate, increased 2.8% year-on-year in April, accelerating on a monthly basis with a 1.7% rise from March. Industrial producer purchase prices climbed 3.5% from a year earlier and rose 2.1% month-on-month.

During the first four months of 2026, factory-gate prices averaged 0.2% higher than the same period last year, while industrial producer purchase prices increased 0.5%.

Production Material Prices Lead Annual Increase

In April, prices for production materials rose 3.8% year-on-year, contributing approximately 2.98 percentage points to the overall increase in producer prices.

Among major sectors:

• Mining industry prices rose 10.6%

• Raw materials industry prices increased 7.1%

• Processing industry prices gained 1.5%

By contrast, prices for consumer goods fell 1.0%, reducing the overall producer price level by around 0.23 percentage points.

Within consumer-related categories:

• Food prices declined 1.9%

• Clothing prices dropped 1.1%

• General daily consumer goods prices fell 1.1%

• Durable consumer goods prices edged down 0.3%

On the industrial purchasing side, prices for non-ferrous metal materials and electrical wires surged 21.3% from a year earlier, marking the sharpest increase among major categories.

Other notable annual changes included:

• Chemical raw material prices up 5.9%

• Fuel and power prices up 4.4%

• Textile raw material prices up 1.0%

Meanwhile:

• Construction materials and non-metallic products prices fell 5.1%

• Agricultural and sideline product prices declined 2.1%

• Ferrous metal material prices slipped 0.9%

Monthly Gains Driven by Mining and Chemical Sectors

On a monthly basis, producer prices rose 1.7% in April, with production material prices increasing 2.1%, contributing about 1.68 percentage points to the overall monthly rise.

Sector-by-sector data showed:

• Mining industry prices climbed 5.7%

• Raw materials industry prices rose 4.9%

• Processing industry prices increased 0.4%

Consumer goods prices edged down 0.1% from March.

Within the consumer segment:

• Food prices declined 0.4%

• Clothing prices fell 0.1%

• General daily consumer goods prices rose 0.1%

• Durable consumer goods prices increased 0.1%

Industrial producer purchase prices also recorded notable monthly shifts.

Among the major categories:

• Chemical raw material prices rose 7.3%

• Fuel and power prices increased 6.3%

• Textile raw material prices gained 1.3%

• Ferrous metal material prices rose 0.6%

• Agricultural and sideline product prices increased 0.3%

However:

• Construction materials and non-metallic products prices declined 1.0%

• Non-ferrous metal materials and electrical wire prices slipped 0.1%