A view of the automated container port in Qingdao in east China's Shandong province. Profits at China's industrial firms fell 6.7% in July from a year earlier, extending this year's slump to a seventh month with weak demand squeezing companies as a post-pandemic recovery faltered in the world's second-biggest economy. Profits were down 8.3% in June, according to the bureau, which only occasionally publishes monthly figures. "Commodity prices are running low, the pressure on raw material costs in the midstream and downstream industries has eased. Major banks have downgraded their growth forecasts for the year to below the government's target of about 5% as recovery sputters on a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending and tumbling credit growth, prompting the authorities to slash interest and promise further support.

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Persons: Sun Xiao Organizations: National Bureau, Statistics, Unit, NBS, Big, China Aluminum International Locations: Qingdao, Shandong