According to newly released data from the National Bureau of Statistics on September 9, China's Producer Price Index (PPI) for August 2026 rose 3.8% compared to the same period last year, and edged up 0.4% on a monthly basis.

The Producer Purchase Price Index, which tracks the cost of raw materials and other inputs, climbed 5.8% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month.

Cumulative figures for the first eight months of 2026 show the factory gate price index up 2.0% versus the corresponding period in 2025, while the purchasing cost index gained 3.2%.

Breakdown of Year-on-Year Price Movements

Looking at the annual comparisons for August, within the factory gate price index, production materials prices advanced 5.0% year-on-year, contributing approximately 3.92 percentage points to the overall index increase. Within this category, the mining and quarrying sector witnessed a substantial 17.8% surge, the raw materials industry gained 6.7%, and the processing sector increased by 3.1%.

Conversely, consumer goods prices contracted by 0.5% annually, shaving roughly 0.10 percentage points off the headline figure. This segment saw declines in food prices (-2.3%), clothing (-1.2%), and general daily necessities (-0.8%), while durable consumer goods bucked the trend with a 1.2% price increase.

On the purchasing side, non-ferrous metal materials and wire products recorded the steepest climb of 19.8% year-on-year. Fuel and power costs rose 9.8%, followed by chemical raw materials (9.5%), textile raw materials (3.8%), and ferrous metal materials (0.3%). In contrast, building materials and non-metallic minerals fell 3.2%, and agricultural by-products declined 0.5%.

Monthly Fluctuations in Producer Prices

From a sequential perspective, production materials prices rose 0.4% in August over July, lifting the overall index by 0.32 percentage points. The mining sector saw a notable 2.7% uptick, raw materials prices increased 0.8%, and processing prices held steady.

Consumer goods prices ticked up 0.2% month-on-month, contributing 0.04 percentage points, with food and clothing prices remaining level, general daily necessities easing 0.2%, and durable consumer goods rising 0.6%.

In the purchasing index, fuel and power costs advanced 1.4% on the month, non-ferrous metal materials and wire products rose 0.8%, and textile raw materials increased 0.6%. Conversely, ferrous metal materials declined 0.6% and chemical raw materials slipped 0.4%, while prices for agricultural by-products and building materials held flat.