China's fiscal revenue shrinks 2.8% on year in first half

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's fiscal revenue slid 2.8% in the first half of 2024 from a year earlier, unchanged from a 2.8% fall in the January-May period, official data showed on Monday, as prolonged weakness in domestic demand dampened the outlook for an economic recovery.

Fiscal expenditure was up 2% in the first half, against a 3.4% increase in the first five months, according to finance ministry data.

For June alone, fiscal revenue posted a 2.6% contraction year-on-year, versus a 3.2% drop in May, while fiscal spending skidded 3%, reversing a 2.6% gain in May, according to Reuters' calculations based on the ministry's data.

China's economic slowdown was worse than anticipated in the second quarter as the housing downturn and weak demand dragged on the recovery.

This, alongside lingering woes over local government debt, job insecurity and rising tensions with the West, has undermined consumer and business sentiment, reinforcing calls for more effective policy support.

While China issued ultra-long special bonds on the back of efforts to boost government spending, the pro-growth measures aimed at bailing out the housing market and rebooting the consumer sector have failed to produce the desired effects.

To boost growth, China surprised markets by cutting major short and long-term interest rates on Monday, its first such broad move since August last year.

The country unveiled a 60-point policy document on Sunday following a closed-doors meeting of the Communist Party's Central Committee, known as a plenum, outlining steps ranging from developing advanced industries to improving local government finances. Consumption tax collection will be shifted towards the consumption stage instead of the production stage and gradually shifted towards local governments, as markets expected.

Analysts expected to see new measures on fiscal and tax reform, as policymakers look to ease concerns over municipal debt of more than $13 trillion that poses risks to financial institutions and economic growth.

($1 = 7.2518 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Bernadette Baum, William Maclean)