Slower Growth may Force China to Loosen Policy Grip

China may hold off tightening monetary policy after growth in services and manufacturing weakened, underscoring challenges for the nation’s leaders as they open the annual session of parliament tomorrow.

Expansion in industries including retailing, transport and banking, was the slowest in five months in February, an official survey of purchasing managers showed yesterday. Gauges released two days earlier pointed to manufacturing growth cooling.

Premier Wen Jiabao will outline economic policies at the start of the National People’s Congress in Beijing as the government grapples with sustaining a recovery from the slowest growth in 13 years without triggering a resurgence in consumer and asset-price inflation. While the government has pledged to boost incomes and consumption, last week’s decision to intensify a three-year crackdown on the property market may damp the nation’s rebound.

Bloomberg

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