China's industrial profits fell 3 percent in June
Profits for China's manufacturing firms fell in June after brief gains in the previous month, mainly on concerns that a slowdown in production caused by trade tensions with the US could spill over into economic growth.
China's industrial profits have been declining since the second half of last year, and many firms are postponing business decisions and cutting production investment.
According to data released on Saturday by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, industrial profits in June fell 3.1 percent year on year to 601.9 billion yuan (roughly US $ 87.52 billion), after rising 1.1 percent in June. May.
Profits in the first six months fell 2.4 percent from last year to 2.98 trillion yuan, while profits for Chinese state-owned industrial enterprises fell 8.7 percent for the year.
The fall in profits in the first half of the year was caused by weaker indicators in the automotive, oil refining and steel industries, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
Producer price inflation, one of the key indicators of industrial profitability, fell to zero in June from a year earlier, raising concerns about deflation and may prompt the government to take more aggressive stimulus measures.
June is the first full month of the US imposing higher tariffs on Chinese goods, resulting in a sharp drop in Chinese imports and exports.