According to the watchdog of MOFCOM, last week (May 14-20), the national market price index of the edible agricultural products fell by 0.8%, and the price index of the means of production increased by 0.4%.

In the market of edible agricultural products, the average wholesale price of 30 kinds of vegetables was 3.91 yuan per kilogram, down 2.3% over the previous week, with the prices of lettuce, green bean and white gourd down 8.7%, 8% and 6.2% respectively. The wholesale price of poultry fell as a whole. Among these, the prices of egg, chicken and duck were 8.57 yuan, 15.71 yuan and 17.25 yuan respectively, decreasing by 1.2%, 1.1% and 0.5% respectively over the previous week. The wholesale price of meat decreased slightly, and the prices of pork, beef and mutton were 16.83 yuan, 51.89 yuan and 49.15 yuan per kilogram respectively, falling by 0.7%, 0.7% and 0.5% respectively. The average wholesale price of aquatic products picked up with the prices of carp, large hairtail and large yellow croaker standing out with a rise of 1.2%, 0.8% and 0.6% respectively. The wholesale prices of edible oil increased, with those of soybean oil, rapeseed oil and peanut oil up 0.6%, 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. The wholesale prices of cereals rose slightly, with that of flour and rice up 0.3% and 0.2% respectively year on year.

In the market of production means, the price of non-ferrous metal increased by 0.5%, with those of nickel, lead, zinc and aluminum up 3.2%, 1.9%, 0.8% and 0.8% respectively week on week, and those of copper and tin down 0.4% and 0.1% respectively week on week. The price of steel increased by 0.3%, and the prices of hot-rolled common plate, common middle plate, deformed steel, and hot-rolled steel were 4,291 yuan, 4,357 yuan, 4,051yuan and 4,159 yuan per ton respectively, up 0.6%, 0.5%, 0.4% and 0.4% respectively. The price of chemical fertilizer increased by 0.1%, with those of urea up 0.2%, that of DAP down 0.1% and those of KCL and NPK remaining unchanged. The price of coal increased by 0.1%, among which the prices of steam coal were 597 yuan, up 0.2%, and that of coking coal was 749 yuan per ton, down 0.1% and that of blind coal were 848 yuan per ton, remaining stable compared with those of the previous week. The price of rubber decreased by 0.2%, with that of natural rubber down 0.3% and that of synthetic rubber up 0.1% week on week. The price of basic chemical raw materials decreased by 0.4%, with those of sulphuric acid and caustic soda down 1.2% and 0.3% respectively, and those of methyl alcohol and sodium carbonate up 0.6% and 0.1% respectively week on week.