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Industrial profit growth may have fallen but the PMI has gained ground indicating the economy has not run out of steam [Xinhua]
Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) appear to show that industrial growth may have slowed in 2017.
During the period January to October growth in profits from major industrial companies slowed to 21.9 per cent.
During the same period in 2016, profits had grown by 23.3 per cent.
The slowdown peaked in November this year when profit growth was at 14.9 per cent, compared to 25.1 per cent in the same month last year.
The drop in profit growth of large companies with a revenue of $2.87 million or more – which are monitored by the NBS – is a significant turnaround from just a year ago.
In 2016, industrial profit growth was led by strong sales in electronics, equipment and the oil refining sector.
But the Chinese economy nonetheless remains in recovery.
Last week, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) released data which showed that imports and exports had risen beyond expert forecasts for November.
“Total foreign trade volume [for November] rose 12.6 per cent year on year to 2.6 trillon yuan [$400 billion],” the GAC said.
In the period January to October the foreign trade volume rose a total of 15.6 per cent to 25.14 trillion yuan ($3.95 trillion).
Meanwhile, the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) released earlier, grew to 50.8 in November from 50.1 in October, the NBS said in its survey tracking the health of some 3,000 large and state-owned companies
The reading is above the neutral 50-point level, signalling an expansion in the manufacturing sector, according to the NBS.
A reading below 50 represents contraction.
This is the fourth consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI has been in growth territory.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
