According to the monitoring by MOFCOM, the prices of major farm produce in 36 large and medium-sized cities continued falling while those of means of production picked up slightly last week (March 2-March 8).
The average price of 18 vegetables was down 5.6% week on week and 7.2% compared with that in the Spring Festival, led by prices of balsam pear, cucumber and green pepper, down 13.8%, 9.6% and 9.5% respectively week on week. The prices of eggs and chicken fell 2.1% and 0.3% respectively compared with the previous week. The prices of meat were on a downward trend, with the prices of mutton, pork and beef going down 2%, 1.9% and 0.1% respectively week on week. The prices of aquatic products dropped 0.4% compared with the previous week, with the prices of grass carp, large yellow croaker and chub going down 2.1%, 1.2% and 1.1% respectively. The prices of grain changed slightly and prices of edible oil remain unchanged.
The prices of refined oil went up 4.8% week on week, with the prices of diesel oil and gasoline rising 4.9% and 4.7% respectively. The prices of chemical fertilizers rose 0.2%, with the prices of urea, NPK and diammonium phosphate going up 0.4%, 0.2% and 0.1% respectively compared with the previous week while the price of potassium chloride going down 0.2%. The prices of steel decreased 0.6%, with the prices of both U-steel and I-beam steel falling 0.7% compared with the previous week. The prices of basic chemical raw materials dropped 0.4% week on week, with the prices of sulfuric acid and sodium carbonate going down 1.4% and 0.5% respectively. The prices of non-ferrous metal dropped 0.3%, with the prices of nickel, zinc, tin and lead going down 1.7%, 1.4%, 0.8% and 0.6% respectively while that of copper and aluminum remained stable. The price of coal went down 0.3%, with the prices of coking coal, steam coal and blind coal down 0.5%, 0.4% and 0.1% respectively week on week. The prices of rubber went down 0.1% compared with the previous week, with the price of natural rubber down 0.7% and that of synthetic rubber up 0.6%.