BEIJING, Sept. 9 -- China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 1.8 percent year on year in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.

The decline was bigger than a 0.8-percent year-on-year dip registered in July.

On a monthly basis, the PPI edged down 0.7 percent, widening from a 0.2-percent decrease a month earlier, the data showed.

NBS statistician Dong Lijuan attributed the PPI decrease to insufficient market demand and the downward trend in prices of some international commodities.

From January to August, the average PPI decreased by 1.9 percent from a year ago.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, was up 0.6 percent year on year in August, NBS data showed.