China’s factory-price index continues rapid rise in July

China’s factory-gate prices rose at an elevated rate in July, driven by higher crude oil and coal prices.

The producer-price index rose 9.0% from a year earlier, faster than an 8.8% increase in June, said the National Bureau of Statistics Monday.

The Wall Street Journal’s poll of economists forecast an 8.8% increase. The increase in July matched May’s figure, which was the biggest rise in producer prices since September 2008.

On a monthly basis, China’s PPI rose 0.5% in July, up slightly from June’s 0.3% growth.

The statistics bureau said the PPI was mainly driven by higher crude oil and coal prices.

Beijing has in recent months taken measures to cool soaring commodity prices, restricting steel exports and cracking down on commodity speculation.

The high producer prices have yet to feed through to consumer inflation.

China’s consumer price index rose 1.0% from a year earlier in July, down from a 1.1% increase in June. The result was slightly higher than the 0.8% increase expected by surveyed economists.

Food prices fell 3.7% form a year earlier in July, compared with June’s 1.7% drop. But on a monthly basis, food prices rose due to heavy rainfall in many parts of the country.

Non-food prices increased by 2.1% in July, up from 1.7% in June, lifted by soaring oil prices and higher hotel and travel expenses during summer vacation, said the statistics bureau.