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China Dec '99 production index up 0.11 pct yr/yr

BEIJING: The production price index in 31 major Chinese cities rose 0.11 percent year-on-year in December 1999, the Financial News reported on Monday. The index, compiled by the central People's Bank of China, rose 0.08 percent year-on-year in November after rising 0.04 percent in October, the newspaper said.

The October rise was the first after 25 months of successive falls, state media have said.

The index gauges the purchase prices of goods used for manufacturing, such as raw materials and fuel. The raw material component of the index was 0.56 percent lower in December than a year earlier. The fuel component was up 2.8 percent, the Financial News said.

The index was up 0.03 percent month-on-month in December after rising 0.07 percent in September and 0.28 percent in October, it said.-Reuters