BEIJING — China's top economic planner on Aug 17 pledged to closely monitor price changes of bulk commodities and take multiple measures to ensure price stability as part of efforts to alleviate burdens on businesses over raw material costs.

These include boosting production and supply, timely release of reserves, strengthening coordination of imports and exports, and stepping up market supervision, said Meng Wei, spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Through two batches, China has released 270,000 metric tons of copper, aluminum, and zinc from its national reserves to maintain market order.

The move has helped to guide market expectations and ease business pressures over raw material cost, Meng noted.

Earlier official data showed China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, expanded by 9 percent year-on-year in July, slightly higher than the 8.8-percent growth in June.

Sharp price hikes in crude oil and coal lifted year-on-year PPI growth in July. Month-on-month data, however, showed that government policies to stabilize commodity prices took effect, with mild price declines seen in industries like steel and non-ferrous metals, the National Bureau of Statistics said.