Reuters reports that according to the report from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's factory gate prices rose at the fastest pace since November 2018 in February as manufacturers raced to fill export orders.

The producer price index (PPI) rose 1.7% from a year earlier, compared with the median forecast for a 1.5% rise and speeding up from a 0.3% pickup in January. The price data, in part driven by a low base a year earlier, was slightly firmer than expected.

As producer prices extended their gains, consumer inflation remained downbeat, suggesting continued subdued household demand, a lagging driver of broader economic growth.

The consumer price index fell 0.2% in February from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said in a separate statement, compared with the median forecast for a 0.4% fall and a 0.3% decline in January.

"We do not think the recent period of consumer price deflation is likely to persist. Shifting pork price base effects will nudge up food inflation, a tightening labour market will push up core inflation and energy inflation will rebound thanks to rising oil prices," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, in a note.