Beijing | China’s fiscal spending fell in August for the first time this year, underscoring the difficulty central and local governments face in bolstering economic growth despite pledges from policymakers to pursue a pro-active fiscal policy.

Expenditure was 1.511 trillion yuan ($310 billion) in August, a 0.2 per cent decline from the same period last year, according to Caixin calculations based on data released by the Ministry of Finance this week. That’s down from a 3.4 per cent increase in July and the first drop since November 2018.

caixin