Profit growth at China’s industrial firms accelerated to a six-month high in March, as long-suppressed factory-gate prices turned positive amid disruptions from the Iran war.

Total profits for China’s major industrial enterprises – those with annual revenues greater than 20 million yuan (US$2.93 million) – grew by 15.8 per cent last month, the fastest rate since September, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

Profits in the first quarter reached 1.696 trillion yuan (US$248 billion), a year-on-year rise of 15.5 per cent – far above the marginal 0.8 per cent increase recorded in the same period last year, the NBS said.

The strong performance coincided with a rebound in China’s producer price index. The gauge of factory-gate prices rose in March for the first time in more than three years, amid rising global commodity prices driven by the US-Israel war on Iran.

Within the broader figures, the manufacturing sector recorded quarterly profits of 1.24 trillion yuan, up 19.1 per cent – outpacing a 16.2 per cent increase registered by the mining sector.

Rapid developments in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related industries helped drive profits in optical-fibre manufacturing, optoelectronic-device manufacturing and display-device manufacturing up 336.8 per cent, 43 per cent and 36.3 per cent, respectively.

Sector-specific data showed a significant loss-to-profit turnaround in the processing of petroleum, coal and other fuels. Meanwhile, profits in the computer, communications, and electronic-equipment manufacturing segment rose by 120 per cent, year on year.