China's producer prices up 0.6 pct in May

China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, rose 0.6 percent year on year in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

The pace was slower than the 0.9-percent increase recorded in April, NBS data showed.

On a monthly basis, producer prices went up 0.2 percent in May, narrowing from the 0.3-percent increase in April.

In the first five months, the index climbed 0.4 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Factory prices of production materials grew 0.6 percent year on year in May, down from the 0.9-percent increase a month earlier.

Consumer goods prices rose 0.9 percent year on year in May, flat with that in April.

Among major industries, oil and natural gas extraction saw price rises in May, jumping 6.7 percent from the previous year, according to the NBS.

The auto manufacturing sector reported a price drop of 0.7 percent year on year, expanding 0.2 percentage points from April.

A total of 21 sectors among 40 surveyed industries saw price hikes month on month, while 11 reported price drops and 8 witnessed unchanged prices.

Wednesday's data also showed China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.7 percent year on year in May, quickening from the 2.5-percent growth for April.