China's Dec industrial profits grow slowly; central bank support likely

Figures for the whole of last year show a rebound, with industrial profits surging 34.3% to $1.37 trillion.

China's industrial firms saw December profits grow at their slowest pace in more than a year and a half, pointing to cooling demand amid mounting economic challenges for the world's second-largest economy.

The downbeat data adds to expectations of strong supportive measures from the People's Bank of China in the coming months to stabilise a faltering economy. Covid-19 outbreaks have hit consumer spending, a property market downturn is deepening and exports look set to slow.

Hobbled by an easing in factory-gate inflation, industrial profits rose 4.2% year-on-year, the slowest rate since April 2020, according to the National Bureau of Statistics