Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Will actively take measures to promote stable raw material prices

On April 20, the State Information Office held a press conference on the development of industry and informatization in the first quarter of 2021
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Huang Libin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and director of the Operation Monitoring and Coordination Bureau, said that since the beginning of this year, the prices of major products in the steel, nonferrous, petrochemical and other industries have continued the upward trend at the end of last year, and the prices of nonferrous metals have risen quite sharply

First, the rising cost of raw materials has pushed up the price of bulk commodities

Second, the recovery of production in downstream industries has formed a tight supply and demand situation
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In the first quarter, the output of light industrial products such as air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and some major mechanical products in the downstream industries showed a substantial recovery growth trend, and the growth rate far exceeded the output growth of raw materials such as steel, copper, and aluminum

Third, the financial attributes of non-ferrous metals and some chemical products are prominent.
Loose monetary policy and better global economic expectations have boosted the activity of global futures trading.
Short-term speculation in the financial market also has a significant amplification effect on price increases
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China’s industrial volume is huge, and the overseas purchases of some bulk commodities are also very large.
The rise in the price of related commodities has a very direct impact on PPI.
In recent months, the ex-factory prices of products in upstream industries have shown a significant upward trend, and along with the industrial chain Downstream transmission, although the profitability of some upstream companies has been improved to a certain extent, it has also increased the cost pressure of downstream companies to a considerable extent and squeezed the profit space of the company
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At the same time, we also see that the relevant price increase factors are mostly short-term and sudden.

In the next step, we will work with relevant departments to actively take measures to promote stable raw material prices: first, strengthen operational monitoring and price supervision, stabilize market expectations, release operating conditions in a timely manner, conduct public opinion guidance, and prevent panic buying or stockpiling in the market
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Cooperate with relevant departments to resolutely crack down on illegal activities such as monopolistic market and malicious speculation