File photo: VCG

BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, dropped 1.6 percent year on year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Saturday.

The reading expanded from the 1.2-percent decline in September, NBS data showed.

On a monthly basis, the PPI rose 0.1 percent last month, the same rise as in September, according to the NBS.

In the first 10 months, the PPI on average declined 0.2 percent from that in the same period last year.

Factory prices of capital goods decreased 2.6 percent year on year in October, expanding from the 2-percent decline in September.

Among major industries, oil and natural gas extraction saw faster price drops in October, declining 17.9 percent year on year.

Prices for ferrous metal mining and calendering decreased 6.1 percent over one year ago, while non-ferrous metal mining and calendering saw producer prices rise 0.2 percent year on year in October.

Seventeen of the 40 surveyed industries saw price hikes month on month, while 16 reported price drops and seven witnessed unchanged prices.

NBS senior statistician Shen Yun said the carryover effect of last year resulted in a drop of 1.2 percentage points in the PPI decline in October, while new factors dragged down the index by 0.4 percentage points.

Saturday's data also showed China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 3.8 percent year on year in October.