The latest monthly proprietary indices from the Financial Times Confidential Research show that Chinese economic growth remained fairly steady at the start of the second half of 2016, but also highlight brewing problems in this unbalanced stabilization. The July Business Activity Index (BAI) dipped back below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction. The reading, of 49.8, was largely the result of a softening in the Real Estate Index, though this reflects seasonal factors more than any outright sectoral weakness. Sales activity across all three city tiers surveyed was more subdued, as it tends to be at this time of year, but the index was underpinned by still-strong house price growth.
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