China's May factory gate prices fell by the sharpest annual rate in more than four years, official data showed on Wednesday, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh on global demand.

The producer price index (PPI) fell 3.7% from a year earlier in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement, compared with a median forecast for a 3.3% decline tipped by a Reuters poll of analysts and a 3.1% fall in April.

China's exports contracted in May as global coronavirus lockdowns continued to devastate demand while a deeper fall in imports pointed to mounting pressure on the country's key manufacturing sector.

Official and private factory surveys also indicated deep contractions in export orders, underscoring persistent downward pressures on growth.

China's consumer price index rose 2.4% from a year earlier, NBS said in a separate statement, compared with a 3.3% increase in April and a 2.7% rise estimated by economists.