China’s industrial profits fall to four-month low

Official data for August hints that Washington’s trade pressure is having a squeeze on China’s industrial sector, Caixin reports, with profit growth continuing to slide for the fourth straight month.

Industrial profits grew 9.2% y/y last month, down from 16.2% in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

As it stands, average growth was 16.2% y/y for the first eight months of 2018, dragged down 1.1% from the January-to-July average.

An NBS official explained that the slowdown could be attributed partly to weaker revenue growth and higher input prices.

However, state-owned companies saw a 26.7% y/y rise in profits in the Jan-Aug period, particularly metal and mining companies, which has partially offset any impact on private firms from the trade war, said Caixin.