China's producer price inflation slowed to a four-month low in November as factory activity softened due to the government's ongoing efforts to curb pollution, cooling demand from factories for raw materials.

Producer prices rose 5.8 percent from a year earlier - the lowest since July, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday. The rise was slightly less than market expectations and compared with the previous month's 6.9 percent increase.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted the PPI in November would rise an annual 5.9 percent, easing back also because of a high base a year earlier.

“The environmental protection drive could affect production of middle- and low-stream firms, easing demand for raw materials,” said Wen Bin, an economist at Minsheng Bank in Beijing.