China’s industry profit growth slows for 6th month as trade war takes toll
- Conflict with US continues to weigh on production – industrial profits rose 3.6 per cent last month, down from growth of 4.1 per cent in September
China’s industrial profit growth decelerated for a sixth straight month in October, as the trade war with the United States continued to weigh on the economy.
Industrial profits rose 3.6 per cent last month compared to a year earlier, down from growth of 4.1 per cent in September and the recent high of 21.9 per cent growth in April, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
Profits increased by 13.6 per cent in the first 10 months compared to the same period last year, slowing from 14.7 per cent growth in the January-September period.
The expansion was led by the steel, oil, building materials and chemical industries, which contributed nearly 76 per cent of the overall industrial profit growth during the January-October period, the statistics bureau said.
Steel industry profits increased by 63.7 per cent in the first 10 months of the year, as steel output hit a record high of 82.55 million tonnes in October, according to government calculations.