Fuel prices raise PPI to 12-year high
Rising energy prices pushed up producer price index (PPI) in July to 10 percent year-on-year, the highest since 1996 when data were first recorded.
The new PPI, which rose 8.8 percent in June, has continued its spiraling ascent since last October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The PPI, the main gauge of factory gate inflation, is likely to further squeeze the profit margin of domestic enterprises, already struggling to cope with a global slowdown, analysts said.
The PPI is usually seen as a leading indicator of consumer inflation because producers pass on the rising costs onto consumers in six months or so.
But despite the jump in PPI in July, prices of consumer goods rose only 4.6 percent year-on-year, the least in six months. Consumer prices rose 7.1 percent in June, down from 8.7 percent in February.
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