Business confidence falls

China's business confidence index fell by 0.6 points to 132.5 points in the second quarter, but is up 4 points year-on-year, a National Bureau of Statistics survey of 19,500 shows. Transport, storage and postal companies posted the biggest loss in confidence, dropping 10.3 points from the first quarter, real estate dropped 3.3 points to 157.5 points, and only manufacturing and services industries saw a rise. The index, which was posted on the bureau's website Thursday, follows the release of its business climate index Wednesday, which rose to 135.9 in the second quarter from 131.5 in the first. The business climate index reflects current economic conditions, but the confidence index measures outlook and follows a recent series of cooling macro-economic measures.