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China will work to ensure the supply of commodities and keep their prices stable to maintain a steady economic performance, the State Council's Executive Meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, vowed on Wednesday.
Since the beginning of this year, due to multiple factors, especially the transmission of the global price rise in commodities, some products have seen extended price rallies, with some hitting new records.
Boosted by the price surge of raw materials, China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, saw a better than expected year-on-year increase of 6.8 percent in April.
"We must carefully analyze the reasons behind this round of rapid increase in commodity prices and focus on the crux of the issue, to adopt measures in a targeted and holistic approach," Li said.
A host of steps was decided upon to strengthen the two-way adjustment of supply and demand, including raising export tariffs on certain iron and steel products and canceling export tax rebates for some steel products to increase supply in the domestic market.
"While the market continues to play a decisive role in resource allocation to ensure the supply of commodities and keep their prices stable, the government must better fulfill its responsibility," Li said. "Any monopoly and hoarding will be cracked down upon under the law to step up market regulation."
(With input from Xinhua)