Update | China's industrial profits fall 8.8pc in August compared with year ago
The drop in profits of industrial companies during the month was the biggest annual decline since mainland's National Bureau of Statistics began monitoring such data in 2011
Profits earned by Chinese industrial companies in August fell by 156.6 billion yuan (US$24.59 billion) – down 8.8 per cent – compared with the year before, official data published on Monday shows.
August’s drop, caused by rising costs and persistent falling prices, has added to signs of weakness in the world’s second largest economy.
Companies were also hurt by the stock market slump, which pushed down their investment returns, while the fluctuation in the value of the yuan also increased companies’ financial costs during the month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.
The fall in profits of industrial companies was the biggest annual fall since the NBS began monitoring such data in 2011.
For the first eight months of this year profits were down 1.9 per cent compared with the same period last year, the NBS.