From The Wall Street Journal:
China’s government said industrial-production growth slowed slightly last month, amid tentative signs that Beijing’s efforts to cool the economy may be taking hold.
Growth in industrial production, which measures the output of everything from cars to steel, softened to 16.7% in July from a year earlier, compared with 19.5% in June.
In addition, World Bank economists in Beijing said they are seeing an impact from the measures the central government has taken. These steps have included an increase in interest rates, two increases in bank reserve requirements — the amount of money commercial banks must deposit with the central bank and not lend out — and new taxes to discourage property speculation. The economists said they don’t believe the Chinese economy is overheating.[Full Text and subscribers only]
