Chinese Industrial Profits Jump in August, Reversing Drop (1)

Chinese industrial profits surged after months of declines, signaling that national campaigns to tackle overcapacity and excessive competition are bearing fruit.

Industrial profits in August climbed 20.4% from a year earlier, the first increase in four months, according to data released Saturday by the National Bureau of Statistics. For the first eight months of the year, they climbed 0.9%, beating a Bloomberg Economics forecast for a 1.6% drop.

Chinese factory deflation eased for the first time in six months in August amid a government campaign to reduce overcapacity across the economy. But a continued deceleration in industrial output growth may ...