China's industrial profits accelerated sharply in August on a yearly basis, thanks to a lower comparative base, suggesting a steady growth momentum after a slowdown in the beginning of the year.
National Bureau of Statistics said that industrial profits jumped 24.2% from a year earlier to CNY 483.1 billion (USD 77.9 billion) last month, more than doubling the 11.6% gain in July.
Mr He Ping a researcher at the bureau, said a low comparative base last year was one of the major reasons for the much faster acceleration. He said that "Industrial profit fell 6.2% year on year in August last year, which was the biggest drop in 2012 and created a low base for comparison.'
He said a stabilizing economy also contributed to the growing industrial profits. China's gross domestic product expanded 7.5% from a year earlier in the second quarter, the slowest in more than one year.
But data in the past two months have beaten many optimistic projections and raised hopes of China's economic growth rebound in the third quarter.