Fixed-asset investment growth starts to slow

China’s urban fixed-asset investment – spending on factories, property and public facilities – grew 25.6% to US$585 billion during the first five months of the year, the South China Morning Post reported. The investment growth rate, released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, was down slightly on the 25.7% growth seen for the January-April period. It was also down on the 25.8% growth rate for the whole of 2007. Economists said the real figure was likely to be much lower once adjusted for inflation. Increases in oil, coal and steel prices pushed the producer price index to 8.2% in May, its highest level in more than three years. Investment was underpinned by spending on non-ferrous metals, coal and real estate development, which saw year-on-year growth of 41.5%, 47% and 31.9% respectively. Some economists expect higher investment growth is expected in the fourth quarter as post-earthquake restructuring kicks in.