China’s Industrial Profits Slow in June as Raw Material Prices Rise

Earnings growth for industrial firms in China slowed for the fourth consecutive month, as higher raw material prices squeezed factory margins, suggesting some weakness in the world’s second-largest economy’s recovery.

Profits of industrial companies rose 20% year on year in June to 791.8 billion yuan, or about $122.27 billion, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, compared with a 36.4 percent increase in May.

In the first half of the year, industrial companies’ profits grew 66.9%, compared with a sharp decline due to the pandemic a year ago.

Profits increased 45.5% in the period from January to June compared to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.