From Reuters via MSN, June 26/27:
China's industrial profits swung back into sharp decline in May from a year earlier, as factory activity slowed in the face of broader economic stress and a fragile trade truce with the United States.
Deepening deflationary pressures and a persistent property crisis continued to undercut demand and growth in the world's second-largest economy.
A few signs, including an unexpected pickup in retail sales growth last month, suggested some resilience among households even though market consensus is that more policy support is required to bolster a fragile economic recovery.
Profits at China's industrial firms fell 9.1% in May from a year earlier, snapping a two-month growth streak, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Friday.
The profit decline was due to "insufficient effective demand, declining prices of industrial products and fluctuations in short-term factors," said NBS statistician Yu Weining in a statement.
Industrial profits slid 1.1% in the first five months of 2025 from the same period last year. This compares with a 1.4% increase in the January-April period.
China's factory-gate deflation deepened to its worst level in almost two years last month while consumer prices extended declines....
....MUCH MORE
