Industrial profits fall in August

China's industrial profits fell 0.6 percent in August from a year earlier, reversing from July's 13.5 percent annual rise, the government said on Saturday, the latest in a series of weak data from the world's second-largest economy.

Industrial companies made profits of 3.83 trillion yuan ($622.8 billion) between January and August, 10 percent higher than the same period last year.

China's factory output grew at its weakest pace in nearly six years in August while growth in other key sectors such as retail sales and imports also cooled.