BEIJING (Reuters). – China’s annual factory gate price rose at its fastest rate ever recorded in September. The increase was driven by rising commodity prices and energy restrictions, putting pressure on companies already dealing with supply issues.

On Thursday, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that the PPI rose 10.7% in September from one year before. It was the highest increase in the PPI since 1996, when the data were first compiled. According to a Reuters poll, economists had predicted that the PPI would increase 10.5% in September after a 9.5% rise in August.

China’s growing power crisis, due to its transition from clean energy and booming demand for commodities, has hampered production in many factories, including those that supply big brands like Apple (NASDAQ:).

The power crunch has hit output across the cement, steel，and aluminum industries, while utility companies have struggled to keep up with post-pandemic power demand.

This backdrop explains why Chinese energy futures and Chinese petrochemicals forwards rose to record levels on Monday. They were also fueled by the oil price rise.

The Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange saw thermal coal prices rise 60% and last month they were up 8% to 1,408.20 Yuan ($218.77 per tonne) amid shortages.

Beijing took a number of steps to reduce record high coal prices and alleviate the country’s power crisis. This included encouraging coal miners and managing electricity demand at their plants.

However, prices for coal have not fallen despite the fact that many coal mines were shut down after floods in Shanxi, China’s largest coal-producing province, occurred.

NBS data showed that China’s consumer price Index (CPI), rose 0.7% in September compared to the 0.9% increase forecasted in the Reuters poll. This was smaller than the 0.9% rise expected in August.

China’s CPI fell 46.9% last year, which is a significant component.

Beijing has bought pork in order to stabilize the prices for its staple meat, despite falling earlier this year. This is causing heavy losses to farmers.

After being flat in August, core inflation (which strips volatile food and energy prices) reached 1.2% for September.