China central bank survey shows business confidence dips in third quarter
Business confidence among Chinese entrepreneurs fell in the third quarter – marking the third consecutive quarter of decline – a central bank survey showed on Friday, mirroring signs of fragility in the economy.
The survey conducted by the People’s Bank of China found the entrepreneur confidence index fell to 63.6 percent in the third quarter, 1.3 percentage points lower than the second quarter.
The central bank survey of entrepreneurs, bankers and households followed official data released earlier this month that showed China’s economic growth weakened further in August, with industrial output growth falling to a six-year low.
Despite the slowdown, 79.5 percent of bankers in the survey believed current monetary policy measures as appropriate, an increase from 72 percent in the second quarter.
Among households, 59.5 percent see housing prices as unacceptably high, a decrease from 63 percent from the second quarter.
Source: Reuters (Reporting By Jake Spring and Kevin Yao; Editing by Paul Tait & Kim Coghill)