Data for the month of May shows that producer prices for industrial goods in Liaoning Province increased by 7.0% compared to the same period last year. This represents an acceleration of 2.8 percentage points from the growth rate seen in the previous month. On a month-over-month basis, prices rose by 1.2%, a deceleration of 4.9 percentage points from the prior month's increase.

The prices paid by industrial producers for purchased materials also saw a year-on-year increase of 5.4% in May, which was 2.6 percentage points higher than the April figure. The month-over-month increase for these input costs was 1.0%, moderating by 3.6 percentage points compared to the previous month's rise.

Analysis by Major Categories

Breaking down the producer price data by major categories reveals distinct trends. The price index for production materials surged 9.6% year-on-year, accelerating by 3.3 percentage points. Within this category, prices for raw material industries jumped 18.1%, mining and extraction industries rose 10.7%, and processing industries saw a more modest increase of 0.9%.

In contrast, the price index for consumer goods showed a year-on-year decline of 3.4% in May. However, this decrease was 1.0 percentage point less severe than the drop recorded in April. A closer look at this category shows prices for durable consumer goods fell 4.7%, food prices decreased 2.9%, apparel prices dropped 1.1%, and prices for general daily necessities were down 0.8%.

Purchased Raw Material Prices

The data for nine major categories of purchased raw materials presented a mixed picture in May, with five categories showing price increases, one remaining flat, and three experiencing declines compared to the same period last year.

Significant year-on-year increases were recorded for chemical materials (up 19.5%), non-ferrous metals and wire (up 16.0%), fuel and power (up 6.7%), ferrous metals (up 2.4%), and timber and pulp (up 1.5%). Prices for textile raw materials were unchanged from a year ago. Declines were observed for agricultural and sideline products (down 0.9%), other industrial raw materials and semi-finished products (down 1.2%), and building materials and non-metallic minerals (down 2.0%).