BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s government land sales revenue fell at a faster pace in June, data showed on Wednesday, as cash-strapped developers remained cautious about buying land, adding to other recent data showing rapidly tapering momentum across the broader economy.
Revenue from land sales last month fell 24.26% year-on-year, bigger than a 13% drop the previous month, according to Reuters calculations based on finance ministry data.
For the January-June period, land sales revenue tumbled 20.9% from a year earlier, highlighting the stress on China’s economy on multiple fronts including weak demand at home and abroad, debt woes in the property market and high youth unemployment.
China’s property sector, which accounts for about a quarter of the economy, remains firmly in a downtrend, with property sales and investment recording double-digit falls. New home prices for June have also stalled after meagre gains a month earlier.
All eyes are on an expected Politburo meeting later this month, as markets hope for more policy support to shore up a stuttering economy as a post-COVID bounce fades quickly.
(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
