Guangdong's economy showed initial signs of improvement last month, but a strong rebound is not expected in the near future, the provincial statistics bureau says.
The growth rate of the province's industrial output, fixed-asset investment, retail sales and local government revenues all picked up in June from the previous month, indicating the economy had stabilised after slowing down over the past few months, the bureau said.
The southern coastal province, which was the export powerhouse of the mainland, was seen as a bellwether of the country's economy because any changes in its situation usually took place three to six months before other regions, the bureau said.
In the first half of this year, the Guangdong economy grew 7.4 per cent from a year ago, lagging the 7.8 per cent expansion posted by the mainland.
However, June growth of industrial output edged up 0.4 percentage points from May, fixed-asset investment accelerated 6.7 points, retail sales improved 1.9 points and local government revenue rose 6.3 points.
'There are clear signs that the short-term economic outlook is getting better,' the bureau said. 'However, a strong rebound is unlikely as the stimulus policies introduced recently will show effects from as early as the fourth quarter.'
