China's business stable in July: survey

BUSINESS conditions for companies in China were basically stable in July, according to a survey released today.

Overall operating conditions for Chinese companies were rated 64.94 this month following June's 63.51 -- a sharp fall from 78.46 in May, said the China Business Sentiment Survey by Market News International, a subsidiary of the Deutsche Boerse Group, a real-time news agency.

The index was hit in June by government tightening measures and widespread concerns that the debt crisis in the eurozone's peripheral members could get worse and engulf the global economic recovery.

The survey said concerns on the impact of the eurozone crisis have abated somewhat and Chinese companies are now seeing a seasonal uptick in business ahead of the Christmas season in western economies.

But the results also indicated Chinese companies remain cautious about the outlook for demand, and worried about rising raw material and labor costs.

Looking ahead, it is expected the index may improve in the coming months as the year's peak export season for Christmas approaches.

China's economic growth has moderated to 10.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, down from the surge of 11.9 percent in the first three months.

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