The think tank has projected a year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 4.8 per cent this year in the country.

The Conference Board leading economic index fell by 0.3 per cent for China in August to 153.7, following a decline of 0.5 per cent in July.
The decline suggests further obstacles to growth, said an expert from the think tank, which has projected a year-on-year GDP growth of 4.8 per cent this year, downwardly revised from a previously projected 5.1 per cent.

The LEI contracted by 1.5 per cent from February to August of 2023, a much smaller rate of decline than 3.7 per cent over the previous six months.

The Conference Board coincident economic index (CEI), which provides an indication of the current state of the economy, inched up by 0.1 per cent for the country in August to 144.6, after a 2.3-per cent rise in July.

The CEI grew by 1.9 per cent between February and August—an increase from the 1.2-per cent growth between August 2022 and February 2023, the US-based think tank said in a release.

“The China LEI declined again in August, suggesting further obstacles to growth,” said Ian Hu, economic research associate at the think tank.

“Although the profitability index improved slightly, the change was not enough to offset deteriorating consumer expectations, likely reflecting weakening labour market conditions and the continued housing downturn. Over the past year, the six-month changes for consumer expectations and exports have been consistently negative,” he said.

“As such, we predict that headwinds to growth will persist; the Conference Board projects year over year GDP growth of 4.8 per cent in 2023, which is downwardly revised from a previously projected 5.1 per cent growth rate,” he added.

The China LEI declined in four of the last six months.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)