BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Producer prices of industrial products in China's mining sector declined in February for the first time in five years, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.
The producer price of domestic crude oil dropped 7.7 percent year on year in February, forcing a decline in producer prices of the industrial products by 1.2 percent in the mining sector, said the report.
Statistics show that crude oil prices rose 4.6 percent in January this year, leading to a 4.7 percent rise in the prices of mined products, while in February last year a 43.1 percent increase in crude oil prices resulted in a 25.2 percent surge in the prices of mining products.
Producer prices of all industrial products rose 2.6 percent year on year in February, which was 0.7 percentage points lower than the rise in January.
Production materials climbed 2.8 percent year on year, while basic necessities went up 1.9 percent.
Purchasing prices of raw materials, fuel and power edged up four percent, which was 0.7 percentage points lower than January.