The producer price index (PPI) for China's industrial products rose 8.1 percent in April over the same month last year, putting on more pressure on the nation's inflation rate, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

The factory-gate prices of raw materials, fuel and power were up 11.8 percent.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday the rise in the PPI, which measures the value of finished products when they leave the factory, was only 2.4 percent as recently as August, indicating intensifying inflation pressure.

Li Xiaochao, spokesperson of the NBS, said higher ex-factory prices could lead to a rising CPI, as producers might seek to pass on their own rising costs to consumers.

China's CPI, a key measure of inflation, was up 8.3 percent in March, following an 8.7 percent rise in the previous month, according to the NBS.

China has set an annual CPI target of 4.8 percent this year.

Factory-gate prices of crude oil surged 37.9 percent in April over the same period last year, while gasoline was up 10.8 percent, diesel 10.2 percent and kerosene 11.7 percent. The producer prices of raw coal jumped 20.9 percent and those of steel products rose between 24.9 percent and 41.1 percent. The purchasing prices, or costs, of fuel and power rose 21.2 percent, ferrous metals 20.8 percent, non-ferrous metals 6,1 percent and chemical raw materials 4.2 percent. The PPI for manufactured goods was up 7.2 percent in the first four months of this year, while the costs of raw materials, fuel and power rose 10.3 percent.

The price index of food, a major component of the consumer price index (CPI), was up 11.9 percent, exceeding that for garments (2.3 percent) and daily commodities (3.7 percent). The prices of consumer durables were down 0.5 percent, said the NBS.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2008)