BEIJING — China’s producer prices continued to drop in January but the contraction eased notably, signaling less deflationary pressure, official data showed on Feb 18.

The producer price index (PPI), which measures wholesale inflation, dropped 5.3 percent year-on-year in January, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

It marked the 47th straight month of decline. But the contraction eased in comparison with that of previous months. From August to December, the monthly reading stayed unchanged at 5.9 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, January’s PPI inflation fell 0.5 percent, 0.1 percentage points less than December’s reading.

NBS statistician Yu Qiumei attributed improving producer prices mainly to the low comparison base last January.

In January, price drops in ferrous metal smelting, oil refining and processing, chemical raw materials and chemical products contributed more than half of the general producer price decline, Yu said.

The PPI data came along with the release of the consumer price inflation index, which rose 1.8 percent in January.