SteelOrbis Shanghai
China's producer price index (PPI) in January slipped 3.3 percent from a year earlier, with purchase prices for raw materials, fuel and power down by 5.3 percent.
Breaking the figures down according to the various sectors:
Prices for crude oil in China slumped by 49.9 percent year on year, while gasoline and kerosene prices rose by 2.1 percent and 3.1 percent respectively, with diesel prices down 4.8 percent.
Coal mining and washing prices increased 22.7 percent while raw coal prices were up 12.3 percent.
Processed ferrous metal prices dropped 7.2 percent year on year. Prices for large-, medium- and small-sized steel products declined 5.3 percent, 9.4 percent, and 3.4 percent respectively, while prices for medium plate were down 15.2 percent, with wire rod prices down 14.5 percent.