China's industrial output eases, but curbs to stay

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BEIJING, Sept 13 (AFP): China's industrial output eased during August in a sign that efforts to curb growth were kicking in, official data showed today, but the government was expected to continue its tightening policies.
Production at plants and factories across China was up 17.5 per cent last month from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
While impressive by most nations' standards, in China it marked the second consecutive month of slowing growth in industrial output, after July's 18 per cent and June's 19.4 per cent, according to previously published statistics.
"It's inevitable that measures adopted by the government to curb resource-intensive enterprises have had an impact on industrial output," said Sun Fanghong, a Shenzhen-based analyst with Pingan Securities.
"At the same time, the government is placing fairly strict curbs on commercial banks' lending after steep growth in investment in the first half," she said.