China Factory Prices Rise 3.3%

China's factory-gate prices in January rose 3.3% from a year earlier, as raw material and energy prices ticked higher in a sign that inflation may be picking up pace, figures showed Feb. 13.

The increase compared to a 3.1% acceleration in December and a rise of 3% for all of 2006, according to statistics from the National Statistics Bureau.

Procurement prices for raw goods, fuel and power rose 4.7% year-on-year in January, while production materials increased 3.8%. Gasoline spiked 11.1%, while diesel was up 14.5%.

China's consumer price index, the nation's main indicator for inflation, rose 1.5% in 2006, but with a year-end spike of 2.8% in December.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007