China’s industrial profits extend slump into seventh month

BEIJING, Aug 27 (Reuters): Profits at China's industrial firms fell 6.7 per cent 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.
Earnings shrank 15.5 per cent year-on-year for the first seven months, following a 16.8 per cent decline in the first half of the year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Sunday.
Profits were down 8.3 per cent 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. Unit cost of industrial enterprises has improved overall," NBS statistician Sun Xiao said in an accompanying statement, adding that unit costs in July posted the first year-on-year decrease since the beginning of this year.
Big Chinese manufacturers posted losses for the first half, with engineering firm China Aluminum International (2068.HK) reporting a net loss of 830.6 million yuan ($114.2 million), compared with a year-earlier net profit of 123.6 million yuan.