BEIJING, April 10 (Reuters) - China's factory-gate

prices in March turned positive for the first time in more than

three years, official data showed on Friday, pointing to rising

import cost pressures linked to the Middle East crisis.

The producer price index (PPI) increased 0.5% from a year

earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of

Statistics, ending a 41-month streak of declines. The reading

beat an estimated 0.4% gain in a Reuters poll.

The consumer price index (CPI) ticked up 1% year-on-year,

slower than a 1.3% rise in February. Economists polled by

Reuters had expected prices to climb 1.2%.

On a monthly basis, CPI fell 0.7%, below expectations for a

0.2% decline and compared with a 1% rise in February.