China’s industrial profit growth slowed for the first time in six months in May, signalling that stronger exports and higher factory-gate prices were not enough to offset weak domestic demand.Industrial profits rose 21.1% in May from a year earlier, easing from a 24.7% increase in April, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Saturday, Bloomberg reported.For the first five months of 2026, industrial profits increased 18.8%, slightly below Bloomberg Economics’ forecast of 19%.The slowdown came despite China emerging from factory deflation in March after more than three years, with producer prices rising in May at the fastest pace since 2022. Demand for China’s advanced manufactured goods has been supported by the global AI investment boom, while disruptions in energy markets following the Middle East conflict have pushed up commodity prices.However, the latest data suggest those tailwinds were outweighed by sluggish domestic investment and softer household spending, weighing on corporate earnings.The headline growth also reflects a weak comparison base. Industrial profits had fallen 9.1% in May last year.During the January-May period, industrial firms earned 3.14 trillion yuan (USD 462 billion), below the level recorded during the same period in 2022.“The problem of strong supply and weak demand within the country remained outstanding and companies in some industries were still facing difficulties,” Yu Weining, an analyst with the NBS, said in a separate statement.
