China's September producer price index drops 1.3%

China's producer price index (PPI) fell 1.3 percent in September from a year earlier, compared with a 1.6-percent drop in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday. The index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level, has been in negative territory for 19 consecutive months. However, the pace of the decrease has been easing for four straight months, indicating continued strengthening of the country's economy, said Yu Qiumei, senior statistician with the NBS. On a monthly basis, the PPI edged up 0.2 percent in September, up slightly from a 0.1-percent month-on-month increase for August, according to the NBS. The bureau also said the country's consumer price index rose 3.1 percent year on year in September, up from 2.6 percent in August. Growth of China's gross domestic product (GDP) eased to 7.5 percent in the second quarter, down from 7.7 percent in the first quarter and 7.9 percent in the last quarter of 2012. The NBS is scheduled to release GDP data for the third quarter on Friday.