Factory prices of industrial products as a whole dropped 3.4 percent year-on-year in the first six months.

NBS figures show that factory prices of capital goods dropped 2.6 percent in June from a year earlier, while the factory prices of consumer goods went down by 2.2 percent.

Of the 38 industries surveyed by the NBS, only eight saw a risein factory prices. Among those, prices coal mining, wood and bamboo processing and tobacco processing industries reported a price rise of 13.6 percent, 4.3 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

Of the industries showing big falls, oil processing and coking,and synthetic fibers witnessed a drop of 8.6 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively.

In June, factory prices of crude oil and refined oil products dropped at a slower rate than in May.

(Xinhua News Agency July 22, 2002)