The price of corporate goods grew by 3.2 percent year on year in May with the price level remaining the same as the previous month, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said Tuesday in Beijing.

According to a central bank report on the corporate good price index, said that the price of capital goods rose by 0.1 from April and 4.2 percent from a year earlier while that of consumer goods dropped by 0.3 percent from April and rose by 0.6 percent on an annual basis.

On a monthly basis, the price of primary goods grew by 1 percent and that of intermediate goods and finished goods dropped by 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent respectively. On a yearly basis, the prices rose by 9.8 percent, 3.2 percent and 0.5 percent respectively.

In May, the price of grain dropped by 0.7 percent from the previous month and by 1.5 percent from a year ago.

The prices of coal rose by 1 percent from April while that of coke dropped 0.2 percent, and the figures became 23.1 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively, compared with a year earlier.

The price of oil rose by 12.9 percent from the previous month and 23.1 percent from last year, while that of refined oil rose by 1.8 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively, on an annual basis.

The price of pig iron dropped by 2.1 percent from April and 4.4 percent from a year ago; that of rolled steel fell by 2.4 percent on a monthly basis and rose by 8.8 percent year on year; and that of steel ingot grew by 3.2 percent from a month ago and 17.9 from a year earlier.

The price of automobiles remained the same as in April but dropped by 5.5 percent on a yearly basis, with that of sedans falling by 0.1 percent and 9 percent respectively.

As for durable consumer goods, the price declined by 0.1 percent from the previous month and by 1.3 percent from a year ago.

The corporate good price index released by the bank, together with the consumer price index released by China's National Bureau of Statistics, show the country's price fluctuations in a comprehensive way.

Source: Xinhua