China's Industrial Profit Growth Cooled in August

China's industrial profit growth cooled sharply in August, though the pace for the first eight months maintained a double-digit rate.

Industrial profit rose 4.2% year-over-year in August, decelerating from the 11.2% growth pace recorded in July due to high base effect. However, cumulative industrial profits for the first eight months of the year, expanded 15.7% from a year earlier, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. This was slightly lower than the 17.6% rise logged in the January-July period.

A robust expansion in high-tech manufacturing and the broader technology hardware sector anchored overall industrial performance, said Yu Weining, a statistician at the statistics bureau.

Driven by rapid demand, the electronics manufacturing industry posted a remarkable year-to-date profit surge, contributing 62.0% to the total national industrial profit expansion. Within the segment, optoelectronic device manufacturing and semiconductor discrete device manufacturing posted gains of 72.0% and 51.8%, respectively.

Higher international prices for crude oil and non-ferrous metals also bolstered earnings in commodity-linked sectors.

The non-ferrous metals industry logged an 82.9% rise in profits, while chemical manufacturing grew 51.0%. Meanwhile, the petroleum processing sector rebounded from a year-earlier loss to post a total profit of 56.29 billion yuan.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 27, 2026 22:45 ET (02:45 GMT)