Fewer bankers think economy cooled in Q2

BEIJING - The number of Chinese bankers who thought the country's economy was cooling dropped in the second quarter of 2016 as their confidence rose, according to central bank survey results published on Friday.

The survey by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) found 57.8 percent of bankers thought the economy was cooling, a fall from 64.8 percent in the first quarter.

The PBOC said its bankers' confidence index rose to 43.7 percent, up 5.6 percentages points from the January-March period.

The survey, which involved 3,100 institutions, also showed 74.7 percent of bankers thought that monetary policy was "appropriate" in the second quarter, compared with 69.1 percent in the first quarter.

A separate survey conducted by the PBOC showed the confidence index of Chinese entrepreneurs rose to 49 percent in the current quarter from 43.7 in the previous one.

Around 53 percent of households believed prices were at "unacceptable" levels, slightly more than the first quarter, another PBOC survey revealed.

Less than 30 percent of families thought prices would continue to rise in the third quarter, while almost half of households believed prices would remain stable.

Among households, 53.4 percent saw housing prices as unacceptably high, up from 50.8 percent in the third quarter.

The central bank surveys of bankers, entrepreneurs and households came amid speculation about a protracted slowdown in China's economy.

The country's economy expanded by 6.7 percent year on year in the first quarter, compared with 6.8 percent in the four quarter of 2015.