Growth slows in China's industrial companies

China’s industrial companies saw their combined earnings growth slow in March, as moderation in commodity prices hit profits in upstream sectors.  Profits of industrial enterprises increased by 23.8% year-on-year in March to 688.7 billion yuan ($100 billion), down from a gain of 31.5% in the January-February period, according to figures released Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Profits for the first quarter as a whole rose by 28.3% to 1.7 trillion yuan. The deceleration may add to concerns over the sustainability of a rebound in China’s economic growth. Profits have surged this year on the back of a recovery in raw material prices that has mainly benefited so-called upstream industries such as coal, oil and smelting. But according to Caixin, the impact is now starting to taper off as gains in commodity prices have eased on a year-on-year basis.