Consumption tax revenue plummeted 71.2% year-over-year, reflecting the weakness in consumer spending. The consumption tax is placed on luxury goods like high-end cosmetics and jewelry, along with more environmentally unfriendly items like cars and gasoline.
Industrial profits dipped 1.8%, its first decline in almost three years due to diminished demand in the wake of the slowdown and trade tensions with the U.S. In contrast, industrial profits showed double-digit growth back in 2017.
China’s key Purchasing Managers Index slipped to 49.4 at the end of 2018, ending two years of expansions, and reflects rising concerns of an extended slowdown through this year.
Lastly, quarterly GDP figures revealed a 6.5% economic expansion in the third quarter of 2018, or its weakest pace in almost a decade, and many also anticipate growth to continue to slow ahead. Economists project growth to fall to 6.4% in the fourth quarter.
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