Chinese workers labouring on a television set assembly line in a factory in Shenyang, Liaoning province, August 27, 2012. [Photo / IC]

Producer prices to drop further, albeit more slowly

February's producer price index, a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate, fell 4.9 percent year-on-year, narrowing from a 5.3 percent drop in January and 5.9 percent in December. The drop, mainly due to downward economic pressure, slower investment growth, gloomy export outlook, and excess capacity, will continue to narrow in 2016 as commodity prices are unlikely to see a sharp fall this year.