China industrial profits rise to almost 3-year high

China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the latest industrial profits data for August, which revealed that the Chinese industrial profit growth hit a fresh 35-month high, the highest level since 2013.

Industrial profits at large firms in China jumped 19.5% y/y in August, sharply higher from 11% booked in July and reaching their highest level since September 2013. While y/y industrial profit growth for the year to date rose to  8.4%.

FT reported, “The statistics bureau pointed to five factors in an explanation accompanying the latest data: accelerating sales by industrial producers; continued price rises; falling costs; a favourable basis for comparison in the year-on-year gauge of growth; and greater activity in auto, steel and refined oil production.”