China’s factory price drop eases in December

December had seen China’s factory gate prices drop at their slowest pace since February, official data showed on Monday. This highly indicates that the country’s manufacturing sector is consistent in staging a brisk rebound from the coronavirus drag.

The producer price index (PPI) recorded a 0.4% plunge from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. The figure came milder than the 1.5% fall seen in November, placing lower than the 0.8% drop predicted by analysts in a Reuters survey.

On a monthly basis, the index advanced 1.1% in December. This came larger than the 0.5% growth in November, indicating that corporate profitability is faring well. Resilient exports greatly supported the industrial sector’s recovery from the coronavirus drag. However, surging infections and pandemic-related restrictions across the globe might dampen the outlook for Chinese manufacturers.