Means of production prices drop in China

Most of the capital goods monitored by the government posted lower prices in the last 10 days of December compared with the previous 10 days, official data showed Monday.

Of the 50 major goods monitored by the government, including seamless steel tubes, gasoline, coal, fertilizer and some chemicals, 26 saw their prices decline during the period, 10 posted higher prices and 14 saw their prices unchanged, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The price of live pigs increased 0.6 percent while that of liquefied natural gas went down 2.8 percent, showed the data.

The reading, released every 10 days, is based on a survey of nearly 1,700 wholesalers and distributors in 24 provincial-level regions.