Profits at China’s industrial firms shrank at a faster pace in January-August, as strict COVID restrictions and a deepening property slump weighed on domestic demand, adding to uncertainties about the faltering economy, reports Caixin. Industrial profits fell 2.1% in the first eight months of 2022 from a year earlier, after a 1.1% drop logged in January-July, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Tuesday.
The bureau did not report standalone figures for August and July. China’s economy showed surprising resilience in August, with faster-than-expected growth in factory output and retail sales, but a property crisis and COVID lockdowns weighed on the outlook. read more
“The economic recovery is facing more uncertainties, as the momentum was disturbed by a variety of unexpected and external factors such as extreme hot weather, regional power restrictions and COVID flare-ups,” said Bruce Pang, a chief economist at Jones Lang Lasalle.