China Sept inflation cooler than expected

(Agencies) Updated: 2015-10-14 11:16

Nomura expects one more cut to banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR) late this year and another four in 2016, each by 50 basis points (bps), together with two more interest rate cuts of 25 bps each next year.

Stubbornly weak producer prices are threatening to erode firms' profits and add to their debt burdens, conditions which analysts expect to persist for the remainder of the year.

Weichai Power , China's largest manufacturer of engines for heavy-duty trucks used in mining and construction, warned on Tuesday that its nine-month net profit could fall 75-85 percent due in part to the weakening economy.

Still, with consumer inflation remaining well below Beijing's 3 percent target for the year, policymakers have ample room to unveil further support for the economy.

China has already launched a wave of measures since late 2014, including cutting benchmark interest rates five times since November.

Trade data on Tuesday showed imports tumbled for the 11th straight month in September, weighed down by weak global commodity prices and soft demand, while exports fell for a third month, albeit less than expected.

Activity in China's factory sector shrank again in September as new orders dwindled, private and official surveys showed earlier this month. Those readings have fanned fears that the economy may be cooling more rapidly than earlier predicted.

The government is due to release September industrial output, retail sales and investment data on Monday, along with third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP).

Many economists expect July-Sept economic growth dropped below 7 percent for the first time since the global financial crisis.