China’s factory inflation hits 13-year high as materials costs soar

China’s factory gate inflation hit a 13-year high in August driven by roaring raw materials prices despite Beijing’s attempts to cool them, putting more pressure on manufacturers in the world’s second-largest economy. The producer price index (PPI) rose 9.5% from a year earlier in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday, faster than the 9.0% increase tipped in a Reuters poll and the 9.0% reported in July. That was the fastest pace since August 2008.China’s economy has recovered strongly from last year’s coronavirus slump but has been losing steam recently due to domestic Covid-19 outbreaks, high raw material prices, tighter property curbs and a campaign to reduce carbon emissions.