BEIJING,- Prices of production materials in 36 big and midsize Chinese cities monitored by Ministry of Commerce (MOC) sunk 1.4 percent last week (November 10-16), MOC said in a report on Monday.

The prices followed downward trend by four months running.

Among 112 varieties of main commodities monitored, prices of 79 fell, those of 30 kept unchanged, and those of 3 rose from the previous week.

The prices of non-ferrous metals, steel, mineral products, energy, and building materials all slipped.

No. 1 lead, phenol, and No.1 nickel led the declining trend last week by diving 11.5 percent, 10.3 percent, and 7.8 percent, respectively, over a week earlier.

The prices of LPG and toluene rose moderately, up 1.2 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

(Xinhua, Nov 19, 2008)