Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that factory prices of capital goods also fell by 1.2 percent over the same period last year, which was the major factor in the drop of industrial product prices.

Factory prices of electronic and telecommunication items dropped the most, down 6.2 percent from the same period of last year.

Prices of consumer goods still lingered at a low level, a decrease of 1.8 percent in September over the same month of last year.

From January to September this year, the factory prices of industrial products decreased 2.9 percent over the same period last year, NBS said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2002)