|
Profit at China's industrial firms dropped 0.3 percent in June
from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
said on Monday.
That reversed a 0.6 percent rise in May and 2.6 percent gain in
April, the first month since September 2014 in which industrial
profits were higher than a year earlier.
The bureau said falling prices pulled down firms' profit margins
in June even though recent interest rate cuts were lowering
companies' financial costs.
In June, China's producer price index (PPI) fell 4.8 percent on
an annual basis, its 39th straight month of declines, official
data showed.
For the first six months of 2015, industrial profits were 0.7
percent lower than a year earlier, the bureau said.
Among 41 industrial sectors, 30 sectors had year-on-year growth
in the first half of this year, while 11 recorded drops.
Profits in mining sector fell 58.8 percent in the first six
months from a year earlier, while earnings of crude oil and
natural gas producers tumbled 68.4 percent.
On the upside, oil processing, coking coal and nuclear fuel
processing industries combined saw profits jumping 78.7 percent
in January-June while the bureau said computers,
telecommunications and electronics firms together had a 19
percent increase.
According to the bureau, interest payments by industrial firms
in June were 6.2 percent less than a year earlier, the biggest
drop this year.
China's central bank has cut interest rates for three times this
year, in a bid to support an economy headed for its poorest
performance in a quarter of a century.
For the first six months, China has reported a growth rate of 7
percent, in line with Beijing's full-year target.
(Reporting by Xiaoyi Shao and Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Richard
Borsuk)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
