China’s Crackdown on Price Wars Eases Industrial Profit Drop (2)

China’s industrial companies saw their profits fall at a slower pace in July, in a potential sign that efforts to curb overcapacity are starting to ease the strain from aggressive competition among producers.

Industrial profits declined 1.5% last month from a year earlier, falling the least since they began shrinking in May, according to data released Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Bloomberg Economics had forecast a decline of 5.8% year-on-year in July. For the first seven months of the year, earnings contracted 1.7%, versus 1.8% in the first half.

Profits climbed much faster in the manufacturing sector, growing ...