Golez: China beginning pay the price of aggression.
Confidence in China's economy falling: PBOC survey
BEIJING--Confidence in the Chinese economy among bankers and entrepreneurs has weakened, a central bank survey showed Thursday, as the world's No. 2 economy showed more signs of sluggishness despite the government's efforts hit its 7% annual growth target.
The index of bankers' confidence in the economy stood at 37.9% in the fourth quarter, down 2.7 percentage points from the previous quarter, the People's Bank of China said in its survey.
Entrepreneurs also said that they were less confident in the economy, and that companies' profitability had further declined in the fourth quarter.
China's economy grew 6.9% in the third quarter, the slowest in six years. Economic data in the fourth quarter pointed to further weakness, triggering concerns that China may miss its 7% growth target this year.
Bankers said in the central bank's survey that loan demand was flat in the fourth quarter while entrepreneurs said both external and internal orders had been declining. Prices of raw materials went down while those of finished goods edged up.
More consumers said in the survey that home prices were too high, but at the same time, more of them said they planned to buy apartments in the next three months.
Write to Pei Li at pei.li@wsj.com
