China's factory-gate prices turned positive in March, driven mainly by improving domestic supply and demand conditions, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

Speaking at a press briefing, MAO Shengyong, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, said the producer price index (PPI) rose 0.5% year-on-year, ending a 41-month decline, while extending month-on-month gains to a sixth straight month. He said stronger domestic demand and improving market conditions were the main drivers, with improving market competition and orderly capacity adjustments also contributing.

Rising global energy and metals prices also lent support. Prices in oil and gas extraction rose 5.2% year-on-year in March, while non-ferrous mining surged 36.4%, and price declines in some downstream sectors continued to narrow.