SHANGHAI: China’s industrial companies see their profits fall at a slower pace in July, in a potential sign that efforts to curb overcapacity are starting to ease the strain from aggressive competition among producers.
Industrial profits declined 1.5% last month from a year earlier, falling the least since they began shrinking in May, according to data released yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Bloomberg Economics had forecast a decline of 5.8% year-on-year in July. For the first seven months of the year, earnings contracted 1.7%, versus 1.8% in the first half.
Profits climbed much faster in the manufacturing sector, growing 6.8% in July from a year ago after a gain of 1.4% in June, statistician Yu Weining said in a separate statement accompanying the data release.
Producers of raw materials, steelmakers and petroleum refiners moved from losses into profits in the month. — Bloomberg
