China's industrial profits in September dropped at its fastest pace since the pandemic, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, as the country tussles with an economy plagued by slow growth, lack of demand and a property crisis.
After a 17.8% fall in August, industrial profits declined 27.1% in September from a year ago, marking the steepest plunge since March 2020, when it dropped by 34.9%, according to data kept by Wind Information.
In the first nine months, industrial profits fell by 3.5% from a year ago.
NBS statistician Yu Weining said "insufficient demand and a sharp decline in producer prices" weighed down the profitability of industrial firms.
Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis, said in an email to CNBC that "the weakness of industrial profits indicates China's greater need for demand-side policies."
Persons:
Goldman Sachs, Hui Shan, Yu Weining, Gary Ng
Organizations:
National Bureau, Statistics, Information, People's, CNBC, Reuters, PMI
Locations:
Jiangxi Province, Shanghai, China, Beijing