China's Industrial Profit Growth Slows to 4.2% in August, the Weakest Since November 2025

China's industrial profits rose 4.2% year over year in August, the weakest annual growth since November 2025. It marks the fourth consecutive monthly slowdown in growth.
Pressure is particularly visible in consumer-facing industries, where profits are falling in autos, clothing and furniture. Domestic demand continues to weaken, with consumption growth slowing to near zero while manufacturers, property developers and infrastructure builders cut spending.
For the first eight months of 2026, industrial profits were still up 15.7% year over year, but the gains are increasingly concentrated, with the electronics industry contributing about 66% of total growth. Raw-material industries contributed 6.2 percentage points to the overall increase, supported by higher commodity prices.