Factory gate prices in China fell at the fastest rate in four years during April even as the country reopened after the pandemic-led lockdown last month. According to data released by the NBS, China’s PPI declined by 5.1% YoY in April, a more steep fall than the 1.5% decline seen in the previous month and the 2.6% fall forecast by economists.

A sharp fall in external demand due to the pandemic, even as inventories rise and profits fall have contributed to strain in Chinese factories, forcing them to layoff workers to curtail their costs. With the global economy expected to go into a deep recession, it will take some more time for the sector to recover in China as in the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, CPI was up 3.3% YoY during April, coming in below economists’ expectations, which was for a reading of 3.7% instead. The rise in CPI was less than in March, when the consumer price index had increased by 4.3%.

The reduction in CPI rise was attributed to a slowdown in the growth of food prices, which had increased by more than 18% during the month of March. In April, food prices were up by 14.8% while non-food prices grew by 0.4% for the period.