On December 15, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to discuss the national economic performance in November 2025. Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Chief Economist, and Director of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics, noted that the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 0.1% month-on-month in November. This increase was primarily driven by seasonal factors such as higher energy demand for winter heating, as well as improved market competition norms and the transmission effect of rising international non-ferrous metal prices.
Year-on-year, the PPI declined by 2.2%, with the contraction widening by 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous month, mainly due to a higher base from the same period last year. Despite this, the PPI has now recorded two consecutive months of month-on-month growth, while the year-on-year decline remained broadly stable compared to October, continuing the narrowing trend observed since August.
"Looking at PPI trends, positive factors supporting a reasonable price recovery are still accumulating," Fu stated. He highlighted three key drivers: 1. **Sustained Consumption Upgrade Effects**: As demand for high-quality living standards grows and consumption-boosting initiatives deepen, prices in sectors like sports and cultural goods continued to rise. In November, prices for arts, crafts, and ceremonial products manufacturing surged by 20.6% year-on-year, accelerating by 2.2 percentage points from October, while sports ball manufacturing prices rose by 4.3%, up 1 percentage point.
2. **Positive Momentum in Emerging Industries**: Accelerated smart and green industrial transformation has expanded demand for related raw materials and finished goods, lifting prices. For instance, non-ferrous metal smelting and processing prices climbed 7.8% year-on-year, up 1 percentage point, while graphite and carbon product manufacturing prices increased by 3.8%, and integrated circuit manufacturing prices rose 1.7%.
3. **Ongoing Impact of Market Competition Regulation**: Year-on-year price declines narrowed for photovoltaic equipment/components (down 2.0 percentage points), lithium-ion battery manufacturing (down 0.7 percentage points), and new energy vehicle manufacturing (down 0.6 percentage points) compared to October.
However, Fu cautioned that the year-on-year PPI decline persists, underscoring the need for stronger measures to solidify the foundation for a sustainable price recovery. Moving forward, he emphasized expanding domestic demand, strengthening the domestic economic cycle, advancing the development of a unified national market, optimizing capacity management in key industries, and improving supply-demand dynamics to foster reasonable price increases and enhance corporate performance.